| Members refute statements on budget debate cancellation | | Print | |
| Tuesday, 05 April 2011 15:50 | |||
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Six members of the Consultative Forum are refuting statements made by their chairwoman, Lillian Misick, and His Excellency the Gov. Gordon Wetherell that blames them for the budget moving forward without public debate. The group said today (April 5) it was disappointed with the manner in which the request by some members to defer the budget session by one week was handled by Misick. The six members who declined to attend because the meeting was not postponed for a week were Dr. Linda Williams, Sharlene Cartwright Robinson, Karen Delancy, Ethlyn Gibbs – Williams, Drexwell Seymour and Pastor Courtney Missick. Members said they were simply asking for the one week extension in order to afford them more time to "peruse the documents" delivered to them over the past weekend. "The request to delay the budget presentation by a week does not seem to be unreasonable given the fact that we have an obligation to make educated, well informed decisions on what we are required to participate in and agree to on behalf of the majority," one member said in a statement to Misick over the weekend. Forum members Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson and Drexwell Seymour spoke out on Radio Turks and Caicos today defending their positions and assuring they were in no way boycotting or intending for the debate to be canceled. "We also refute the allegation that members evaded service so as to sabotage the budget meeting, a statement made by a senior member of the budget team," the statement said. "We are committed to the process of moving these islands forward and towards the accomplishment of the milestones set out." Both Misick and the governor cited the potential delay to milestones as being a reason the budget meeting could not be postponted. The members responded, stating, "We are seriously concerned that the milestones to be accomplished are so tightly timetabled that an offset of a week can affect the election date and negatively impact its achievement." It appears a communication breakdown has caused the stir among the members, the outcome of which is that the governor has now said he will put the budget forward without the chance for the forum members to debate it in public. Although surprised with the fact their request to postpone the meeting was denied, the members noted, "we reconciled to the fact that there were sufficient other members who would carry the passage and who were prepared to proceed and debate the budget." They also said they were not aware of any previous postponement of the meeting, as suggested by Misick and Wetherell in their statements. The six members said they did not feel they were given enough time to prepare. "Though unelected, we take our role seriously and felt it a disservice to the people of these Islands if we were to proceed unprepared. Our individual stance was based on our collective feeling to abandon actions of the past and to change the way the people’s business is being done. We have committed ourselves to openness and transparency and responsible and informed representation on the issues." "We see this not as an 'us' versus 'them' and neither are we a renegade clique," the group said it will be looking forward to will continue to do their work with the Consultative Forum as long as it is able to do so. "We continue to be committed to serving in this forum and keeping the people informed as soon as we are." Click here to read the full statement by the six forum members Click here to read the governor's full statement Click here to read Lilian Misick's full statement
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