The Mayor invited Councillor Agatha Akyigyina to the dais to receive the Council’s vote of thanks.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Alambritis, moved and the Leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor Oonagh Moulton, seconded the vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor.

In doing so both Group Leaders along with the Leader of the Merton Park Ward Independent Residents Group, Councillor Peter Southgate and Councillor Brenda Frazer spoke in praise of Councillor Agatha Akyigyina’s year in office.

(A copy of all these speeches are attached as Appendix C to these minutes).

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

That the Council places on record its sincere thanks and appreciation to Councillor Agatha Akyigyina, for the dedicated manner in which she has served as Mayor of the London Borough of Merton for the year 2014-2015.

Mayoral Citation:

Councillor Agatha Akyigyina. Mayor of Merton 2014-2015

At the time of her election as Mayor in May 2014, Councillor Akyigyina had completed eight years as a councillor for Figges Marsh in Mitcham. She has been a very personable, community-focused and energetic mayor, undertaking many charity fundraising events and numerous civic events and engagements.

The Mayor’s main charities for 2014-2015 were Shooting Star Chase and Merton Street Pastors. Helping those in need in the local community as well as improving the lives of children are the Mayor’s passions, and are reflected in her chosen charities as well as through her community work including helping at a mother and toddler group in Mitcham, working as a volunteer at Home-Start Merton and being a governor at St Mark’s Primary School. The Mayor also supported charity events for the Colour House Theatre and HPCT (The Pilgrimage Trust) as well as helping to raise funds for the Ghanaian Parents Association.

Family is very much at the heart of the Mayor’s work and helping Shooting Star Chase is particularly important to her as the charity supported Councillor Akyigyina and her family when her daughter Suzanna sadly became ill and passed away in 2007. This has been a driving force for the Mayor and she really enjoyed hosting a Christmas afternoon-tea event with the children and families who are being supported by Shooting Star Chase. True to the Mayor’s fun nature, she stepped away from the Mayoral convention of wearing robes for this occasion and dressed up as a Christmas elf much to the enjoyment of the children at the reception.

Noted for her great sense of humour, Councillor Akyigyina has particularly stood out for her warm personality and her ability to put people at ease. Councillor Akyigyina’s caring nature is exhibited in her work as a committed Street Pastor, Vice Chair of the North East Mitcham Community Centre and a Trustee of the Horizon Centre in Pollards Hill. Balancing this community work with charity efforts, Councillor Akyigyina worked hard during her Mayoralty to raise in the region of £65,000 for her charities.

The Mayor also organised a variety of events that were great fun, including a quiz night, an Irish-themed evening, a Ghanaian Independence Celebration, a curry night and Christmas events as well as the annual Mayor’s Ball. Over 250 guests helped raise more than £20,000 at the ball.

Another highlight of the Mayoralty was coming second in the London New Year’s Day Parade with the On the Move entry, created by the talented team at the Colour House Theatre. This raised £6,000 for the Mayor’s charities. Many friends and colleagues, councillors, council officers and volunteers from Merton as well as local businesses helped to make the day a success.

Councillor Akyigyina was proud to represent the borough at civic events throughout the year, including the commemoration of Remembrance Day, Armed Forces Day, Holocaust Memorial Day and the London Mayor’s Association Annual Civic Service event at the Abbey of Westminster.

The Mayor was particularly honoured to serve as Mayor during Merton’s 50th anniversary as a London borough and helped to lead in the borough’s Golden Jubilee celebrations throughout the year. The Mayor worked hard over the year to involve the community more in the Mayoralty and she held many reception events to meet and thank the unsung heroes of the borough who work hard to make Merton a great place to live.

Councillor Akyigyina’s workload and achievements over her Mayoral year would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of her Deputy Mayor, Councillor Laxmi Attawar, and deputy consorts Rami Attawar and Sally Rance. Between the Mayor and her deputy, they have attended around 450 engagements. The Mayor is also grateful to her councillor colleagues who helped raise money for her charities throughout the year and she is thankful for the support from Merton Council staff particularly her staff in the Mayoral office.

The Mayor was ably and lovingly supported by her husband Charles, her son Charlie and her daughter Teresa and friends who all shared the principal consort duties and without whom she could not have achieved so much in her year.

The Mayor was also prayerfully and loyally supported by her Chaplain Father Patrick Feyisetan.

Mayor Akyigyina is recognised by the council for her outstanding community-focused work as well as her positive attitude and dedication to her charitable activities, and for her work representing the London Borough of Merton as a whole. Her personal qualities of compassion and good humour contributed to her very successful year in Merton.

Councillor Agatha Akyigyina responded to the vote of thanks referring to a number of events and experiences during her mayoral year. She placed on record her thanks to a number of individuals for their support during her term of office, including the Deputy Mayor and the Mayor’s office support staff.

 (A copy of her speech is included within Appendix D to these minutes)

A framed copy of the citation together with a past Mayor’s badge was presented to Councillor Agatha Akyigyina.