Sunday, August 9 2009

CHAGUANAS Mayor Natasha Navas on Friday said she is awaiting feedback from the legal secretary at the Ministry of Local Government to determine whether Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday acted improperly when he used Deputy Mayor Orlando Nagessar’s office at the corporation on Thursday.

Panday met with some Chaguanas West constituents at Nagessar’s office, in defiance of warnings from Navas that the corporation’s offices must only be used for corporation business.

The mayor told Newsday that she has since spoken with the permanent secretary and legal secretary at the Local Government Ministry about Thursday’s events. She said the ministry is looking closely at the issues and she is awaiting word from the legal secretary if any action can be taken regarding Panday’s use of corporation facilities.

Panday’s Chaguanas meeting on Thursday formed part of his “surrogate MP” duties for Chaguanas West which is represented in Parliament by renegade deputy UNC leader Jack Warner. Panday argued that the whole country is his constituency and it was illegal to prevent an MP from doing his work.

Warner in turn has promised to set up an office in Panday’s Couva North constituency.

House Speaker Barry Sinanan told Warner that while he could establish such an office, he cannot identify it as “a constituency office”.

Meanwhile, Newsday was reliably informed that Navas will meet with the 54 workers who were retrenched by the corporation at her office at the corporation on Monday at 2 pm.

Warner, who is due to return home from Nigeria on the same day, is also expected to be present at the meeting.

Navas said her predecessor Suruj Rambachan was partly responsible for the workers being retrenched. Rambachan has denied her charges.