Merton Council is set to formally swear in the borough’s new Mayor at full council on Wednesday 4 June.
Councillor Agatha Akyigyina
Councillor Agatha Akyigyina, who represents Figge’s Marsh in Mitcham, has been proposed by the Labour group to become the borough’s 50th mayor for the mayoral year of 2014/2015.
Originally from Ghana, Councillor Akyigyina has lived in the UK since the age of nine and in Mitcham for the past 31 years. She has two surviving adult children, Charles and Teresa. She also had a daughter, Susannah, who passed away seven years ago and, up until her death, was supported by local charities.
Councillor Akyigyina is very active in the community. She is governor at St Mark’s Primary School and the special educational needs school, Perseid. She is also a street pastor, Home Start volunteer and associate manager at Springfield Hospital. She helps at a mother and toddlers group in Mitcham, is vice chair of North East Mitcham Community Centre, a trustee of the Horizon Centre in Pollards Hill and is also chair of the Ghanaian Parents’ Association.
Leader of the council, Councillor Stephen Alambritis said: “Agatha has been a pillar of the community and will make an excellent Mayor. She is already very well-known across the borough because of all the work she does with different groups and I believe she is the perfect choice to be First Citizen of Merton.”
Councillor Akyigyina said: “I feel proud to have been proposed as Mayor by my colleagues. My work in the community and my personal experience of using local services and being supported by local charities when my daughter was ill really made me realise what a great place Merton is and how I would be proud, if I am voted in as mayor at full council, to represent the borough.”
The Labour group is also proposing Laxmi Attawar from Colliers Wood ward to be Deputy Mayor for 2014/2015.
Full council will be at 7.15pm in the council chamber and can be viewed online at www.merton.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
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Note to editors
The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor will be officially voted in by full council on Wednesday 4 June.
Following the local elections on 22 May, Labour now has the majority of seats at council with 36 elected members.