Island Council meeting cancelled

The Island Council meeting scheduled for Friday morning was cancelled due to a lack of quorum caused by members of Windward Islands People’s Movement (WIPM) council members, reports the Daily Herald. Island Governor Jonathan Johnson announced the postponement following the 15 minutes required from the official opening hour.

Saba Labour Party’s (SLP) opposition leader Ishmael Levenston was the only councilman present. Commissioner Bruce Zagers, who said he was looking forward to the adoption of several agenda points, was also present as were representatives of the press and other attendants surprised by the development. Governor Johnson informed the public of having received four e-mail notifications on Thursday from WIPM members. WIPM leader Rolando Wilson had requested the postponement of the meeting, “due to the fact that the WIPM party will not have a quorum.” None of the WIPM councillors could be reached to provide an explanation for their absence. While it could not be confirmed, it is believed that Councilwoman Amelia Nicholson, despite maintaining her official residency in Saba, had moved for the last several months to St. Eustatius, where she is in charge of management of cable television service. It could also not be verified if the repeated absence of Councilman Eviton Heyliger is a form of internal party dissension, but he informed the governor of his inability to attend the meeting on Wednesday, August 14. WIPM Councilman Carl Buncamper confirmed his intention to attend on Wednesday. Levenston refrained from comment.

The governor called for the Island Council meeting to be held on August 14, at 9:00am, with the same agenda points. Island Council Registrar Akilah Levenstone announced in an official release that with regard to Wednesday’s meeting, “according to article 21.3 of the WolBES no quorum is needed, and voting will be carried out regardless the number of members present.”