Kazim to ‘fix’ Pt Fortin council dispute

Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein has promised to “fix” the legal battle that is looming at the Point Fortin Borough Corporation.

Hosein said the ministry has been "bacchanal free" under his tenure and he intends to keep it this way.

Tomorrow, he would bid to resolve the dispute between Point Fortin mayor Abdon Mason and the council and the corporation's CEO Donna-May Thomas before it reached the courts.

Last Tuesday, Mason called a special statutory meeting to move a vote of no-confidence against Taylor.

Mason claimed that in recent months the CEO failed and refused to carry out the legal directives of the corporation. In the motion, Mason stated Taylor has been making unilateral decisions without the knowledge and approval of the council. He claimed her failure to carry out directives set about by the council was preventing proper management of the corporation.

The motion was seconded by alderman Rudranath Maharaj and was unanimously supported and carried by the rest of the council. Copies of the motion were passed to Hosein and permanent secretary Jennifer Daniel for their action.

Mason told Sunday Newsday issues included a hold on expenditure from an account without consulting the council.

“Several motions moved and passed by the council, have not been put into effect....her action has made it difficult for us to deliver the kind of representation we need to deliver in the borough. This is what prompted the motion and next Wednesday at our regular statutory meeting certain things would be highlighted.”

Taylor confirmed the motion was moved against her but said as a civil servant she could not discuss the issue with the media. Sources said she has sought legal advice and will meet with her attorney tomorrow. Taylor has been an employee of the corporation for more than 20 years and was confirmed as CEO during the tenure of former mayor Clyde Paul in 2013.

Hosein said he would meet with the PS on the matter tomorrow.

“The PS is in charge of the administration, meaning the CEO and the mayor and council fall under my portfolio. The PS will provide all the facts and bring it to my attention and we will have a discussion.

“I believe in a consultative approach where all the parties can sit together and talk and find a resolution. Local government has no bacchanal. There was a similar situation in San Juan/Barataria and I solved that problem. In Diego Martin as well, and we fixed it," he said.

Hosein, who served as a councillor and mayor in the San Fernando City Corporation before being assigned the senatorial and ministerial portfolios, said if these situations festered only the people they served would be affected.

“We, both administrative and political arms, have to consider the people, who have us where we are and because of this we have to find a solution. It is my view that every problem has a solution and I will find it and fix it," Hosein said.