ST. PETERS--Soualiga Movement for Social Justice, though not a legally official group as yet, has said it is determined to not only restore the St. Peters Community Council (SPCC) to one that actually serves the community, but also to get to the bottom of allegations of misappropriation of funds by previous councils.
The small group consists of Reginald Arrindell, Rene "Koto" Wilson and Natasha Manuel, all residents of St. Peters.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Arrindell said the recent town hall meeting in St. Peters had yielded little in answers from the former SPCC President Maurice Lake, but if nothing else, "the people walked away with a better idea of the attitude of the previous council and at least then they'll be able to perhaps form a better case (an informed opinion) regarding this issue."
Arrindell said they do not know who is looking into the allegations, but once the group is in possession of the facts and there is evidence of wrongdoing, a complaint will be filed with the Prosecutor's Office. "When there are suspicions of abuse of power, conflict of interest, misappropriations of funds, particularly when it comes to community-owned assets, a lot of people will take issue with that. People feel as if they have been robbed," he said.
Arrindell said the issue was simply about holding people accountable. "If we can't do that, then we will descend into being a banana republic. It's unfortunate that a number of persons would downplay the importance of this investigation and instead encourage us to forget this chapter and move on," he said, adding that the people must "move away from the cowardice of not holding people accountable and begin to get factual info, come what may."
The axe forgets, but the tree doesn't, Arrindell said, quoting a Haitian proverb. "Those who give the blows forget, but those who have the scars remember." He added that had it been the son of working class people accused, the situation would have been much different. "Democracy and justice is only reserved for the bourgeoisie. We cannot continue to allow that."
All three have made themselves available for the election to a new board for the SPCC. The date of the elections has not been set as yet, as a follow-up town hall meeting has been scheduled for April 11. If elected, their first order of business would be to re-connect with the elders of St. Peters and with the youth of St. Peters, "to build back that family concept, forge the relationships, make sure that the most vulnerable in the community are taken care of; make sure our youth participate in the local economy of St. Peters and find ways to address the crime situation. But we know crime is a result of poverty, as Koto has said," Arrindell said.
"We want to work with all sincere organisations. We don't have all the answers; we will not do anything without the mandate of the people and in particular without the mandate of our elders," he added.
About the meeting itself, Arrindell said the group was delighted to see a large turnout, after being organised within just one week. He said, "It went well; we had a dignified discussion. No abusive language was used."
"The people of St. Peters have affirmed and demonstrated in no uncertain terms that they will not approach the truth with fear or trembling. Unlike moderates that prefer to forget the past and move on, we on the other hand see the past, present and future as one. Developing effective and successful plans and restoring confidence in the SPCC will only come about after we understand the exact reasons for the discontinuation of the council activities. Ignoring such crucial details of past immoralities of a greedy few, hinders our evolutionary process as a people," Arrindell said.
SPCC has been dormant for about six years.
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