-mayor refutes claims, says councillors should work harder

MAYOR of Linden, Carwyn Holland, and the municipality have come in for criticism from Councillor Lennox Gasper of Constituency 2 and residents of Constituency 7. Residents of the community of Andyville of Constituency 7 have voiced their disappointment in the limited attention their community is receiving from the council, as it relates to garbage-collection, de-bushing and other developmental issues.
According to Chairman of the Andyville’s Community Development Council, Michael Greene, the residents are of the opinion that their community is being neglected, because of the infighting between the mayor and their councillor, Fern Mc Coy.
“The council doesn’t have time for us, we have our councillor, Councillor Fern, who seems to be willing to help us, but because of the infighting with them in the council, is like we getting the setback. The area want de-bushing, garbage ain’t collecting and a whole host of other things and it is not right,” Greene said.
Councillor Mc Koy and Mayor Holland have been at loggerheads for some time and Mc Koy even voted against Holland being re-elected to office. When asked by this newspaper why she had voted against Holland, Mc Koy posited that Holland’s leadership style is autocratic.
“Definitely, he is a dictator. Since this man has been placed there, I don’t know where this power came from. He speaks to people in this way: like, ‘Well, I am your father and you have a right to listen to me,’ like he thinks he is mayor and he is the boss of the council; and he is not, he is not the boss of the council,” she exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Councillor Gasper also complained that his constituency is being sidelined, because of his opposing views of Holland’s leadership.
“Before I left to go to the States, I asked the council to do some work in a field in Retrieve, I asked them to back-fill an opening pawn at the centre of 606 Oval to the back, it is harbouring mosquitoes, the water is stink, it is not going anywhere, people are living around that. I asked about the back road that is filled with garbage, nothing was done; there are complaints about people in Spieghtland about roads and drains and in old Kara Kara nothing was done, ya know why, because Councillor Gasper is opposing the mayor so the mayor is sidelining Councillor Gasper,” he stated. Gasper claimed that the excavator was used in Constituency 1 and then went on to do works in other constituencies, while leaving his undone.
Holland rubbishes claims
In responding to these allegations, Mayor Holland said that there is no truth to any constituency being sidelined or any display of favouritism on his behalf. He said that works are done in all eight constituencies including 2 and 7, despite the council’s small budget.
“We would have done some work, we would have not gotten a chance to do enough work, but we started work at the ball field. We also would have joined with the community, they came together to do some clearing of bushes and trees in that area, when there was the flooding we did intervene, we worked along with Bosai and we got those drains cleared,” Holland revealed, while commenting on Gasper’s constituency.
He said there is still a lot of work to be done in Retrieve and it is on the council’s radar to continue work there in 2017.
Holland said that the loaned excavator has not completed works in Constituency 7, but work has been done.
“In Constituency 7, the councillors were able to team up with the Multilateral School and we did some work there and of course council’s machinery was there to assist.”
For 2017, the Linden Mayor said that the community of Blue Berry Hill in Constituency 7 will receive street lights.
“There is nothing about any favouritism on the work of the council being done or being executed, in fact, the truth be told, the constituency reps have a greater role to play in their communities. We have received complaints where persons are saying they are promised but many at times, I have to ask by whom. The thing is you can’t make promises that you cannot fulfil, so the constituency reps still have to work with the council to find out or work according to the budget to see if it is budgeted,” Holland said.
He added that residents should be more au fait with their representatives whom they elected and the role that individual has to play in representing their communities.