AS Government considers transforming Siparia into a borough, PNM Councillor for La Brea Gerald Debisette has accused the CEO of treating the regional corporation like a “parlour” instead of a multi-million dollar business.
Debisette’s statement came during the Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC) statutory meeting on Thursday as he joined with councilors on the others side of the political fence, to express dissatisfaction with the CEO Ann Hosein. Hosein was at the meeting.
The meeting became heated as councilors Doodnath Mayhroo and Shankar Teelucksing representing the UNC and Debisette, spoke in agreement about the unilateral decisions being made by the CEO, who they claimed was working against the interest of the 80,000 people they served.
Even chairman Denish Sankersingh added his discontent as he spoke of his attempts to get a proper working vehicle, as the official one assigned to him was a "disgrace to his office."
He said he kept ripping his trousers on a protruding spring on the front passenger seat. He said all the seats were torn and there were missing door handles, making it impossible to open from the outside.
Councillors also complained about the removal of a two-hour break for bank time for corporation employees, delays in getting material to commence or complete projects and the removal of allowances for wackermen and blower operators. The said the latter wqas done without consultation with the council or the employees' union.
Councillors also took issue with Hosein's communication with the Integrity Commission as it related to their declarations.
Mayrhoo, councillor for Avocat/San Francique said the CEO aught to get her priorities right.
He said decisions were being made without council’s approval which they were being asked to rubberstamp in the aftermath.
“The council is being severely undermined.”
He referred to report for the mid-year review, with a request for $19,350,143, which was submitted to the Ministry of Finance without council’s approval.
Mayrhoo said it should have been ratified by the council before being submitted.
“It is unacceptable that something as important as the mid-year review did not go before council before being submitted to the MoF (Ministry of Finance).”
Debisette agreed there should have been better communication.
Hosein responded by saying it was not her error but may have been an oversight on the part of the chief financial officer in bring it to the attention of council before submission.
Mayrhoo lamented that the corporation missed the opportunity to clear water courses before the rainy season, as an excavator and five of the backhoes were down.
Again, there was consensus from Debisette who told the meeting that Palo Seco councillor Dana O’Neil-Gervais’s request for a high vehicle from the CEO to get to residents marooned by Monday’s flash flooding, was rejected.
“That is inhumane,” Debisette told the meeting.
Instead of making funding for the equipment a priority, Myarhoo said the CEO had written to the Chief Personnel Officer (
