Interviews and photos by Jeffrey Trotman
Chairman of the Linden IMC Orrin Gordon and the rest of IMC members expressed disappointment at the July statutory meeting over the slow pace at which the current administration is moving to meet their expectations, which include reopening the Kara Kara Toll Point, making speedy arrangements for a new system of operating the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge, increasing councillors’ stipend and employees’ wages among other issues that they feel should be urgently addressed. Their comments follow:
Winston Caesar: ‘A while ago we all were anxiously looking forward for a change. The change has arrived. Many of us probably thought that things would have happened like magic in the excitement of having the change [and] sitting here, I listened some of our adversaries trying to throw remarks at us. But we’re very mature in terms of bringing out how we feel and tabling it in making a move forward. I will support one hundred per cent that if we are to get anything, we have to be very expressive. We have to make representation first so that we can get what we want…. We have to confront the government to do the right thing and I know it’s long overdue. I’m not going to sit around and say that I expect manna to come from the sky … but if it means that this is what we have to do, I stand by it 100 per cent.’
Hugh Stephens: ‘I want to echo the same sentiment… Many times you might be carried away in doing things not knowing you’re hurting someone else, unless they cry out. And we are not going to sit here and say, oh, we are in power and allow things to go astray. But, persons now … are not of the mindset, or the frame of mind to acknowledge this, or applaud it. They want to throw something in your face. But if you recognize and applaud our position… we’re gonna fight for our community, our town, our region and our people. We support this council one hundred per cent in getting the best for our people and our community.’
Jenny George-Parkinson: ‘The issue in front of us I am recommending that we hold together and ensure that the right people get the recommendation so that at the end of the day we get what we want. Unless we stand together, I think we’ll get nowhere.’
Vibert Cummings: ‘These things are really important to all of us and I believe we should hold one head and support this council to ensure that we get these important things. Of course, we could not have expected that a new government could rectify these things at once. But I am sure that with one head … we can succeed.’
Orin Wilson: ‘…I’m a member of the PPP party/Civic. I’m a young revolutionary [and] if we have to fight for a cause, I’m prepared to fight for that cause, too. This issue about raising salaries, I support it. This issue of having duty-free concession, I’ve never heard it before. This issue about the raising of stipend for councillors, I never heard it before. But, these things are not for councillors to claim that this person would fight for, or this person could do this and this person could do that. It’s for all of us and I will fight for it. One of the things I want to ask the council – I want to ask directly of the Chairman – even though we’re fighting for this cause and we’re fighting for these benefits for the municipality, the staff and the councillors, I want to know where this came from because many times we’ve sent communication from this municipality to the Ministry of Local Government, or Ministry of Communities and nothing happened. So, I want to know where we are going with this. I’m asking that these recommendations meet Mr Bulkan’s office very, very quickly. I am with this fight one hundred per cent.’
Claudette Haynes: ‘I am in full agreement to what is being said. Therefore, I’m in full support. There are a few of us, who have been serving from 28 November 2006 and when we came here, I thought it was just for one year … We’re here now 12 [years] and it was not fruitful. But this thing is paving the way for those, who are coming. With regard to the salaries of the workers, I always say it is low. I would normally be honest; I always would say I won’t recommend anybody to come and work with this town council and, therefore, I’m in full support.’
Stacy Duke: ‘To achieve increase in the salary and stipend, we have to be together.’
Vanburn Browne: ‘I’m in full support of the councillors’ stipend and the increase in pension in whatever form for the workers, an increase because without the workers and councillors, or the staff and councillors there is no municipality. Instead of just sending documents, we need face to face discussion. Vehicles should be assigned to certain municipal officers as is done for government ministries.’
Eon Hall: ‘I will always be in support of an increase in councillors’ stipend. …. The other thing we spoke about, the duty-free concession and so on, yes, all of us would look nice driving out. Nothing wrong with that. I support that the workers be paid a living wage – the town clerk, $200,000 a month; the market clerk, $150,000 a month; and the other workers, a reasonable salary.’
Gordon Callendar: ‘When the shoe was on the other foot we couldn’t initiate anything like this. When I came onboard this ship, the captain and vice captain knew that we were sailing in rough waters. As I always say, the very first day I came on this council, the workers have faith like Job because of what they were collecting. I can remember fully well when Mr Sampson and others sat down and put their package together for each worker of the municipality to get a living wage, [former minister] Mr Whittaker came up with all kinds of fancy talk. What I want to say this afternoon to my colleagues on this matter, I would like to see the workers’ emolument first jump up on the table and then we could come after. …When we go to vote and make that representation, we’re going to log in for the toll station. A set of big trucks coming out of the Ituni district that are not contributing to Linden. So, they’re getting away with murder. The councillors are saying they are behind it one hundred per cent. I am behind it one hundred and fifty per cent.”
Elise Halls: ‘I think it is the right thing. I am saying it is right to operate the toll booth because we know how much more we can get from the toll booth.’
Eric Harry, Vice Chairman: ‘The minister has responded by saying wait until the new council is installed to re-implement the toll booth. I agree with everything especially with the workers. No one can deny that the workers are underpaid. But … we need [the government] to free up: one, the evaluation; two, the bridge. Our focus should be closing the gap while the chairman is working on getting the bridge and the toll point. I support it. We have to agree that the ministry should free up. The Chairman said they don’t want hear anything personal. They want to hear what you think about the broad based reforms and all these things. That is what they want to hear.’
