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Agenda item

Vote of Thanks

To pass a vote of thanks to The Mayor in the following terms:

 

a)    The Members of Council tender their grateful thanks to The Worshipful, The Mayor, Councillor Humayun Kabir, for the courteous and efficient manner in which he presided over the Council’s deliberations during the past year;

 

b)    The Members of Council record their sincere appreciation of the dignified manner in which Councillor Humayun Kabir has carried out the traditional duties of the office of Mayor, of the support and encouragement which he and his Consort, Mrs Rahena Chowdhury Kabir, have given to local organisations and of the prominent part they have taken in the social life of the Borough during the Mayor’s period of office; and

 

c)     That this resolution be sealed and presented to the Mayor at the Annual Council Meeting in a suitable form.

Minutes:

The Mayor passed the Chair to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Henson, who presided over the vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor of Croydon.

 

The Deputy Mayor invited the Mayor to give his farewell address.

 

The Mayor commenced his address by expressing his personal condolences to those families who had lost loved ones during the pandemic and spoke of his solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Additionally, the Mayor congratulated Councillor Creatura on the birth of his twins.

 

It was detailed how 544 formal engagements had been held during the Mayoralty year, of which the Mayor had personally attended 433. It was noted that many of those had promoted education to residents of all ages and had brought together many different communities and faiths from across the Borough.

 

Particular successes were noted; the hosting of a Borough-wide Domestic Violence Awareness seminar and others on Knife Crime Reduction and Mental Health Awareness. Those involved in delivering these were personally thanked including Freedom Together CIC, the Metropolitan Police, Councillor Hamida Ali, Foundation 47, the Croydon Neighbourhood Association, Croydon Mind and Yemi Hughes, who was working hard to prevent more deaths after tragically losing her son to knife crime.

 

The Mayor expressed his pleasure in having welcomed to the Town Hall investors from 22 different countries to talk about why Croydon was a fantastic place to live, work and invest. Abdul Basit Syed and Councillor Toni Letts, the Council’s Business Champion, were specifically thanked for their support.

 

The trip to Arnhem for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Arnhem Bridge was recalled including speaking to his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, who was informed how much Croydon had changed since the 2011 riots. Arnhem’s Burgomaster, Mayor Ahmed Marcouch, had been invited to Croydon during the opening of Fairfield Halls to jointly unveil the Arnhem Gallery plaque.

 

The impact of Covid-19 on the Mayoral year was acknowledged; it was explained how fundraising events had moved online.

 

Particular thanks were given to a number of individuals who had supported the Mayor including Penny Smith-Orr and her daughter Caroline, Anthony King, Anusha Subramaniam, Graeme Smith, Shalina Alabaksh, Deva Ponnoosami, Chandra Babu, Surinder Sahota, Lorraine, Drolet and her son Zack, Giash Uddin, Eawor Ali, Dilly Surelia, Jubayer Kabir, Amanat Hussain, Seleman Rez, Neil Athorn, Patrick Unsby, MFA Zaman, Susan Crosswaite, Sebrina Spencer, Elam Tanveer, Mohammed Islam, Christina Bades and Anna Virabyan, Aska Miah. Four Croydon restaurants were also thanked for their support of the Mayor’s fundraising efforts. These were Chat House, Bagatti, Zafran and Urban Guj.

 

In his closing remarks, the Mayor paid personal thanks to the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Henson, the members of his staff including Stephanie Cope, Hema Vasanthakumar, Nick Evans and Luca Bercelli as well as the Leader, Councillor Tony Newman, the Group Whips and Democratic Services. His biggest thanks were reserved for his wife, Mrs Rahena Chowdhury, for her support as his consort.

 

The Deputy Mayor thanked the Mayor for his address and invited the Leader, Councillor Tony Newman, to move the vote of thanks to the Mayor. In so doing, the Leader associated himself with the Mayor’s comments regarding the pandemic and the fight to forever eradicate racism in society. It was described how Croydon was standing in solidary with those fighting to ensure that Black Lives Matter. The Mayor’s success, both in terms of his fundraising and the events held up until the start of lockdown, was acknowledged along with the work done across the Borough to bring communities together. The focus brought to the issues of Domestic Violence and Knife Crime was described as making the Borough proud. The Mayor’s response to Covid-19 was also highlighted including working alongside the voluntary sector, with food banks and making meals for NHS staff. The Mayor was described as having an exemplary vision for his role and having been dedicate to leading the fight back against Covid-19 over the last three months. The Leader concluded by inviting Members of Council to pay tribute to the Mayor, Councillor Kabir.

 

The Deputy Mayor invited the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Tim Pollard, to second the motion. Councillor Tim Pollard, took the opportunity to also associate himself with the Mayor’s remarks regarding Covid-19. Heartfelt condolences were expressed to all those who had suffered loss as a result of the pandemic whilst thanks were given to the NHS, Council officers and members of the voluntary sector who had all done so much to respond to the emergency. Additionally, it was noted that Council would respond to the death of George Floyd on a cross party basis. 

 

Councillor Tim Pollard expressed his thanks to the Mayor for all he had done throughout the municipal year. It was described as a sadness that the Mayor had less opportunity to fulfil his role due to the impact of Covid-19. Congratulations were given for all the Mayor’s fundraising efforts and for his skill in chairing Council meetings with good humour and even handedness.

 

The Deputy Mayor put the motion to the vote with the vote of thanks, which was passed unanimously in the following terms:

 

  1. The Members of Council tender their grateful thanks to The Worshipful The Mayor, Councillor Humayun Kabir, for the courteous and efficient manner in which he presided over the Council’s deliberations during the past year;
  2. The Members of Council record their sincere appreciation of the dignified manner in which Councillor Humayun Kabir has carried out the traditional duties of the office of Mayor, of the support and encouragement which he and his Consort, Mrs Rahena Chowdhury Kabir, have given to local organisations and of the prominent part they have taken in the social life of the Borough during the Mayor’s period of office; and
  3. That this resolution be sealed and presented to the Mayor at the Annual Council Meeting in a suitable form.