00:00 For the first time after being given borough status mere months ago, the Separia Borough
00:07 Corporation swore in its very first mayor and deputy mayor.
00:12 The outgoing chairman Dinesh Sankasinghe's seat was first declared vacant before the
00:17 mayor was selected.
00:19 Gaining eight votes for and four abstentions, UNC councillor for Avakat Sanfrancic North
00:26 Dudnath Meru was elected to the post and donned with the borough's mayoral chain.
00:44 In his inaugural address, Mayor Meru said while people often feel local government bodies
00:50 fail them, he wants his council to change this perception.
00:55 We have seen over the years how corporations operate and with the limited funding that
01:00 is available.
01:01 The time has come now for us to be very innovative and look at the way we do things in the corporation
01:08 by making sure that the limited amount of resources that are made available is properly
01:13 spent and there is no room for mismanagement or corruption in this institution.
01:21 He said he was grateful for being chosen, telling the chamber that both his grandfather
01:27 who came from India as a child and later his father now deceased work at the corporation
01:34 and he hopes they use this opportunity to effect real change.
01:38 Today I am sure that wherever he is, he will be proud that the son of a labourer has made
01:46 it to the mayor of the Separia Borough Corporation.
01:50 I will leave no stone unturned to deal with the issues that are affecting this borough
01:57 corporation.
01:58 As I speak here now, there is a serious water crisis that is affecting the entire southern
02:05 region of this country.
02:06 I am sure my phone is ringing here.
02:09 I had over 100 calls in the last two days for water.
02:14 People are actually begging for water.
02:16 We have to change that.
02:18 Mayor Meru called on the ministers of local government and finance to show Separia some
02:24 respect and give a bigger allocation in the upcoming budget so that the new borough can
02:30 work for its people.
02:32 Attending Wednesday's swearing in was opposition leader Kamala Prasad Bisasa who in brief remarks
02:39 urged the council to focus on safety and security of its burgesses.
02:45 We talked about security should that be undertaken.
02:49 We talked about the power and jurisdiction that local government bodies have with respect
02:53 to municipalities.
02:55 We talked about using municipalities to help us in the schools so children remember those
03:00 measures we made.
03:02 And what I would ask you to do as a first order of business, government had promised
03:07 each corporation that they should have a certain number of municipalities.
03:13 How many municipalities do you have?
03:15 35.
03:16 35.
03:17 So you need to price the resources so you can move and thereby create some...
03:21 Also sworn in at the corporation were its Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Seedrus Shankar
03:28 Tilak Singh, UNC Alderman Victor Roberts and Sherri-Ann Chuno Lalsy and PNM Alderman Christopher
03:36 Encinas and Ronald Prince.
03:39 Cindy Raguba Tikasing, TV6 News.
03:42 [ Silence ]
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