RE-ELECTED Mayor of Georgetown Patricia Chase-Green yesterday said that her new deputy, Mr. Lionel Jaikarran, is coming to the City Council with “much more maturity” than his predecessor.
It was the first time that the Council was sitting after Chase-Green and Jaikarran were sworn in by President David Granger at State House.

Jaikarran had earlier told the mayor in a light conversation that it was his desire that the former Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan should be the one to hand over his office to him, but Duncan was not at yesterday’s meeting for reasons unknown.
“The reason for his absence today, I really can’t say. I have not received any correspondence from him,” Chase-Green told the Guyana Chronicle.
Contacted for a comment afterwards, Duncan told this publication that although he has returned to Guyana from official business abroad, he wished to offer no comments on the reason he stayed away from the meeting.
During her remarks, the mayor was making reference to Duncan when she said that no organisation can be run by two heads, as this would result in confusion.
“The Council is a policy-making body, and if by the majority decision we agree that this is where we would go forward, we can’t have someone else coming out saying, ‘I don’t agree’ when you would have fully participated. You’re having confusion; no organisation can be run by two heads,” Chase-Green told the Guyana Chronicle.

“It’s the same friendship I would have extended to the former Deputy Mayor, but there were a lot of tantrums being thrown around, whereby if it doesn’t go my way, it doesn’t go anywhere at all.
“I think the new Deputy Mayor is coming with much more maturity,” she added.
Chase-Green said that apart from being understanding, Jaikarran is one councillor who tries to bring solutions to the Council following deliberations at a committee level. “I look forward to working more with him; we’ll be a good team. In the last year, people were more or less finding themselves… and recognised that it was not what they probably expected when they came in. With that one year, the future looks much brighter.”
The mayor said she is looking forward to seeing action on the ground and not councillors taking to the media to speak of their plans.
She said it is hurtful to her when “evil, wicked tongues” speak untrue things that damage people’s character. She advised the councillors to ask questions before they go out and speak ill of the council.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Jaikarran thanked Minister David Patterson and Councillors Duncan and Phillip Smith, whom he said assisted him tremendously. He said the future of Guyana is in safe hands, if it is dependent on young people of Duncan’s caliber.

Jaikarran, a Constituency One Councillor, said although there would be times when there would be disagreements, he is hoping that all issues would be resolved in a dignified manner.
At the swearing-in ceremony recently, President Granger had urged the mayors and deputy mayors to ensure that all citizens are aware of the decisions that they are taking since in the final analysis, they are the ones affected.