Mayor Patricia Chase-Green yesterday accused Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan of causing “civil unrest” by peddling misinformation in the public domain.
“Look at what you have caused. There is civil disobedience all because you are misinforming them. How do you feel, sir? How do you feel? Proud?” Chase-Green flung at Duncan at yesterday’s statutory meeting.
The vitriolic attack began after the standing orders were suspended subsequent to a motion, moved by APNU Councillor Noelle Chow-Chee and seconded by APNU Councillor Heston Bostwick, for clarification on what is stated in the parking meter contract. Chow Chee noted that media reports published over the weekend contradicted information in the possession of councillors and requested clarification as to the exact terms agreed to by the council.
In response, Chase-Green used the opportunity to upbraid Duncan after he got up and said that discussions on what was written in the contract should be held at a special meeting.
“You are one of the persons who is out there in the public giving misinformation and not following on the right track and you are a part of this council,” Chase-Green scolded Duncan, “you are one of the Councillors who took part in the full discussions when we were going through the contract for the amendments. I have the minutes to show.”
The mayor comments were supported by a majority of APNU councillors who cheered and banged the table as she directed the comments to Duncan.
Duncan, who had been arguing that the matter of the amendments was a sensitive topic which councillors should be given adequate time to address was never allowed to fully defend himself, as he was repeatedly heckled by councillors and drowned out by a mayor determined to have the last word.
Chase-Green repeatedly noted “on a point of order” that the council was not discussing the amendments but rather providing clarification of the content of the present contract.
“For many, many months because of the misinformation peddled in the press, councillors have asked me for the opportunity to clarify issues,” Chase-Green said to Duncan.
She then claimed that Duncan’s widely publicized disapproval of the contract caused “civil disobedience and civil unrest.”
She was at the time referring to two large protests against the project organized by the Movement Against Parking Meters. These protests saw hundreds of Guyanese congregate in front of City Hall to silently convey their refusal to support metered parking in the city, accompanied by a virtual boycott of the project.
The mayor further slammed Duncan claiming that although he had a personal copy of the amendments to the contract he was still misinforming the “general public as if what is in here [lifting the contract] is a secret… Let us be mindful of what we are here for and be focused.
“I sometimes wonder if you represent yourself or the council, because you cannot come in here and engage in full discussions and you mislead persons. It is so disheartening.”
In his defence Duncan reminded the mayor that she had been unwilling to compromise. He noted that it was only after agitation from some members of the council that the original contract was subjected to review by the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General leading to several amendments.
“When some of us started to ask question about this contract, which initially cost $500 per hour of parking it led to a review that brought it down to $200, a sum which the President himself has said is burdensome to the Guyanese public,” Duncan argued.
“You are saying I am the one taking the information to the newspapers but I have never had a copy of the contract. A lot of reference is being made to the minutes, but outside of the amendments, I’m hard pressed to provide information as it pertains to clauses in this contract,” he stressed.
Apart from the mayor, other councillors took potshots at Duncan with Chow-Chee remarking, “We have councillors here who are snakes.” However, the mayor objected to the label and asked that “parliamentary language” be used around the horseshoe table.
Bostwick, on the other hand, called for Duncan to be disciplined but the mayor brushed the matter aside and said it would be dealt with another time.
During the clarification, councillors were informed that the contract was not for 49 years but rather 20 years and was subject to review every year by the council. It was also stated that persons were still expected to pay to park but will not be fined if they exceeded their time limit.
