Councillor of the Linden Mayor and Town Council Lennox Gasper has written to Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities Emile McGarrell accusing the council of targeting Town Clerk Jennella Bowen instead of focusing its energies on improving the lives of Lindeners.
The letter by Gasper has drawn the ire of his fellow councillors, who have accused him of misinformation and attempting to embarrass the council.
Gasper, who was annoyed over the way in which the no-confidence motion was passed against Bowen last week, said at the last statutory meeting that the council was operating in disorder and in corruption.
He has since written to McGarrell stating that the motion put personal interest above the broader interest of the people who elected him to serve them. He claimed that the motion took precedence over more critical matters that Lindeners would like to see addressed, including but not limited to inadequate solid waste disposal and a poor drainage system. “It can be viewed as an attempt to hide our own performance inadequacies, and incompetence to fulfil campaign promises to the people of Linden…, under the cover of blame shifting,” Gasper stated.
The APNU+AFC councillors expressed amazement that a fellow councillor who is also an APNU+AFC member chose to condemn an APNU+AFC-controlled council. They said he has misrepresented information in order to embarrass the mayor, the deputy mayor and the entire municipality.
Meanwhile, Councillor Waynewright Betune said that although he found Gasper’s allegations disrespectful, he’s more concerned with the way in which the council is being managed. He said he was alarmed at the complaints of residents of Noitgedacht and Richmond Hill, who have stated that the council tractor only goes into those two areas to remove the town clerk and the mayor’s garbage only.
“While this might be applicable based on privilege, I think it’s a gross mismanagement of our resources, because if we look at the man hours, it’s a cost to just remove two garbage receptacles from these areas and I’m very much disturbed by it,” Betune said.
