– but council business must go on

ALL meetings of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), including statutory and committee meetings, have been cancelled until further notice, but acting Town Clerk, Sherry Jerrick, has assured stakeholders that the municipality will be taking other steps to ensure that the council’s business continues.

According to information reaching the Guyana Chronicle, a number of councillors expressed concern over attending such meetings when the council met for an extraordinary statutory meeting last March 17.

The cancellation is in keeping with the municipality’s effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019), Jerrick told this publication on Thursday.
According to her, administrative matters are currently being dealt with, but those requiring a decision from council will make use of the ‘round robin’ process, as long as it’s an important matter needing urgent action. The ‘round robin’ facility allows for the necessary documents to be taken to each councillor, wherever they are, for them to indicate their approval or not.

Just in case the authorities decide that a complete lockdown of the country is necessary, Jerrick informed that an administrative Skype account has already been set up to allow for the council to conduct their meetings online.

Meanwhile, Councillor Bishram Kuppen told this publication that he has been expecting calls from the administration of matters of importance. He noted that other than the routine business of the administration, there ought to be no new decision or policy. In fact, he said nothing should take place without the knowledge of the council.

Councillor David Allicock offered that the decision not to meet may be in the best interest of everyone as the Council Chamber is usually filled with many persons who have to spend long hours there.

He opined that the office of the Town Clerk will have to utilise some kind of software that will allow councillors to have meetings online. He said the meetings cannot remain suspended as the council’s business has to go on.

Meanwhile, the M&CC has issued a public notice appealing to bars, clubs and night spots to observe all protocols as it relates to the prevention of COVID-19. The municipality is also asking the public to use MMG to pay their general rates.
The council has announced that it will be sanitising public spaces to mitigate the spread of the said disease.

Head of the Public Health Department, Suzette Reynolds, has since said that the council is committed to providing mass sanitisation of public spaces starting from the municipal buildings. It is hoped that this will be extended to public spaces like the ministries of government and places in central Georgetown where persons congregate frequently.