MAYOR of Lethem, Carlton Beckles, has condemned the actions of Regional Vice-Chairman Karl Singh, whom the Mayor claims unceremoniously removed the proposed regional flag from the flag pole at the Revolution Square in Lethem on the morning of Guyana’s Independence.
In a statement, Beckles claimed that the regional Vice-chairman removed the proposed regional flag from the pole on May 26 at about 07:30hrs. He stated that the flag had been raised by the Regional Democratic Council at 00:30 hrs that morning at the flag-raising ceremony, following the raising of the Golden Arrowhead.

“The regional chairman objected to the proposed flag being raised on the grounds that they have not finished their consultations, this is four months after the mandate was received from the Honourable Minister of Communities,” Beckles said in the statement. The mayor added that following requests made by the mayor to the regional chairman regarding a date when the consultations would be made, Singh failed to provide same. “This resulted in the mayor informing the regional chairman that the proposed flag would be raised with an aim of having the consultation going on and to sensitize the residents, since we were mandated to display, have discussions and come to a decision on the proposed regional flag at the consultative forum on the 20th of January, 2017 at the Marriott Hotel, where all 10 administrative regions and all nine Town/City Councils were invited,” the mayor reported.

The mayor noted that the PPP/C-led regions and Town Councils had boycotted that forum at which a three-month deadline was given for regions to complete their consultations. The results of these consultations were expected to be submitted to the Minister of Communities by April 20. “The Mayor and Town Council of Lethem did their consultations within the township and submitted their reports to the Ministry of Communities and the regional chairman. From all observations, it seems that the office of the regional chairman is dragging its feet in having these consultations done and the actions of the regional vice-chairman are proof of this,” the statement said.

However, the mayor noted that Singh’s action may have broken the law, which is why the mayor has called for an investigation to be conducted into whether or not this is so, since the flag was raised in a public space and it is the property of the Government of Guyana, and open spaces within the municipality boundaries are the responsibility of the Mayor and Town Council.

“His Excellency, President David Granger, in his address to the mayors, deputy mayors and other attendees at the recently held conference of the Guyana Association of Municipalities (GAM), stressed the importance of the three levels of Governments working together…. His Excellency also stated that these regions are envisioned to become cities in the future, thus it is the belief of the Mayor and Town Council that regional identity is one step forward to achieving this with an aim of decentralization of authority at the regional and municipal levels, so that they can in the future become autonomous,” the statement continued.

The mayor referred to Singh’s decision to remove the flag as “disrespectful to the Mayor and Town Council of Lethem, the residents of Lethem, and the Disciplined Services,” stating that the concerns regarding the flag should have been outwardly expressed to the Mayor and Town Council, and allow debate on the issue. “He had no right [to] arbitrarily remove a symbol, despite the fact it was still in proposal mode, from a square designed to accommodate national commemorative observances.

The Council has lodged an official report with the Guyana police Force, where statements were given, we now look forward for the law to take its course, since this individual seems so adamant on carrying out the wishes of his masters and would have shown total disregard for the vision of the President of this country and the Government of the day. His action is also in total disrespect to the Town Council, since the flag was raised within the boundary of the town at an area that is the responsibility of the Council,” the statement said.