AFC Region 8 Councillor arrested for alleged illegal march

Last Updated on Monday, 4 August 2014, 22:25 by GxMedia

An Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor for Region 8, Naieem Gafoor was arrested Monday afternoon for carrying out an illegal procession at Mahdia, even as residents continued to block a main road artery in the gold mining township.

Residents said they are peeved that their repeated pleas to Central Government for improved roads, water and health care are being ignored.

Demerara Waves Online News was told that Gafoor was arrested at a shop located about 100 meters away from where a number of residents continued to block the airstrip road. Their main concern is the deplorable state of the internal roads at Mahdia. A Public Works Ministry official said the GUY$30 million available is insufficient to construct strong asphaltic roads and would barely build laterite roads that are very vulnerable to poor weather.

Sources said the group that marched around Mahdia earlier Monday was not granted permission and so was allegedly engaged in an illegal procession.

Region 8 (Potaro-Siparuni) Chairman, Mark Crawford justified the march, saying that residents were totally fed up. “The people reach stage where they don’t need to have permission.  The people’s frustration is boiling over and Mahdia is like a ticking time bomb and that can explode at any time,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

Crawford challenged Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee to lock him up too if he is brave enough to issue orders to have Crawford arrested. The Regional Chairman said Gafoor was locked up in a cell without bail although it is a bailable offence.