In what political insiders say is a move to oust him from office, members of the Port-of-Spain City Corporation have asked Mayor Louis Lee Sing to convene a special meeting of the council to "treat with matters pertinent to the office of mayor." The request is contained in a letter, signed by the majority of the members of the PNM-controlled council, which was sent to Lee Sing late yesterday. The councillors and aldermen are calling for the meeting in accordance with the standing orders of the corporation. Contacted for comment yesterday, the usually outspoken Lee Sing denied knowledge of any such development. However, sources said he has seven days from the date of the letter to convene the meeting. If he refuses to call the meeting, the deputy mayor could step in and preside over the meeting, at which his position as mayor would be discussed, it was stated.
Well placed sources told the T&T Guardian the councillors planned to express no confidence in Lee Sing and would demand he be removed as mayor. That development comes days after the outspoken mayor broke ranks with the Opposition party and publicly criticised the decision by political leader Dr Keith Rowley to file a no-confidence motion in Parliament against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. During the debate, Government MPs took several jabs at the PNM for a letter written by Lee Sing, condemning decisions taken by the party's chairman, Franklin Khan, and Rowley. Lee Sing had claimed that at a recent general council meeting of the PNM, members were debarred from commenting on a "fundamental issue."
However, the minutes of the January 21 meeting state otherwise. A copy of the minutes, obtained by the T&T Guardian, showed Lee Sing was allowed to speak on four occasions during the meeting on various matters.
Yesterday, officials of the PNM were tightlipped on the new developments concerning the city mayor who has faced more than his share of controversies in just over 18 months in office. Rowley described Lee Sing's letter as "unfortunate" and said he would have liked to have all his troops behind him during the marathon no-confidence debate. However, he insisted the issue would not be discussed in the public domain. Over the past months Lee Sing has been in the spotlight for highly-publicised but unsuccessful attempts to rid Port-of-Spain of pavement dwellers, get bars in his jurisdiction to stop selling alcohol at midnight and impose a $1,300 fine for parking on city pavements.
He also attempted to impose a ban on glass bottles within city limits during the recent Carnival celebrations. Lee Sing also has locked horns frequently with his line minister, Local Government Minister Chandresh Sharma. Lee Sing, a businessman and media manager, is chairman of Citadel Limited, which owns radio station I.95.5 FM. He is a long-standing member of the PNM, has served in the past on several boards and was chairman of the National Lotteries Control Board for many years. He was appointed Mayor of Port-of-Spain in August 2010.