– want regional officials to reopen community centre

RESIDENTS of Block 22, Wismar, Linden are calling on the regional officials to stop meddling in the affairs of their community and making unilateral decisions on the running of the community centre, since such actions are negatively affecting the youths there. Currently, the Block 22 Multi-Purpose Centre is locked and no resident is allowed to enter the premises, following an order from Regional Chairman Renis Morian. At the last RDC statutory meeting, Morian confirmed that he did give the instruction to lock the office.

The centre, a building that was donated to the community, houses the Totally Moulding Training Centre and the Information Technology Communication Hub, where youths assemble daily to take part in various empowerment courses. Over 140 youths recently concluded a seven-week life skills training programme.

It has been over one week now that the building is locked and the residents have no access. On Friday, several residents contacted this publication to voice their concern over the issue which angers them, since an eight-week leather training course that is being sponsored by the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport and is being facilitated by the Totally Moulding Training Centre, is being held up.

The materials for the training are locked in the building, and foodstuff that was bought to commence a feeding programme for the less fortunate is spoilt as the days go by.

The residents related, that the entire episode sprung from an altercation a few days prior, when Community Development Council (CDC) officer Bryon Kendell, turned up at a meeting the residents were holding to elect a management committee for the ICT hub.

Kendell reportedly became very abusive, as he related to the residents that he was sent by the regional chairman to lock the building and order the residents out. Prior to that incident, Kendell along with the constituency representative for the community, Neola Rogers, had visited the community and elected residents to be the new CDC body for the community. The residents, however, claim that this was done without consultation with a wide cross-section of the community.

VERBALLY ABUSIVE
In a video seen by this publication, Kendell can be observed being verbally abusive and locking the doors of the building, even as the residents remained inside. The residents said that Kendell also confessed to breaking off the locks from the doors of the building and also ripping down the sign boards, the day before. When the residents reported the damage to property to the police, they were told that he (Kendell) cannot be arrested since the matter is of a political nature. When contacted on Sunday by this newspaper, Kendell said the situation is “with the chairman” and he could not comment on the issue.

Facilitator of the Totally Moulding Training Centre, Marva Semple, said the situation is unbecoming, adding that what saddens her is that it is the youths are affected, especially those who are anxious to start the seven-week leather programme. Since the entire fiasco, several items and materials to start the programme have gone missing, as well as records, stamp and minutes relating to the pass CDC meetings.

The residents believe that Kendell’s behaviour is far from professional and does not reflect that of his high office as a public officer. They have expressed their frustration, in that for years their community has been affected by politics and it is stymieing development, especially for the youths.

WILL NOT ENCOURAGE
“We will not be encouraging persons to come and try to bar us from entering the building that is under our direct control, there is a formed chain of interference of the functioning of our community and it has been going on for the past couple of years,” resident Compton Bourne said. He added: “We don’t appreciate people from outside of the community, not allowing it to function, I am annoyed, we are all annoyed and we are not in agreement with this thing.”

The residents said they are planning to boycott the upcoming LGE, since their elected representatives are failing them. Another resident is calling for the community’s properties to be returned earliest, since it is a great blow to the training centre. “We would like the building to be opened as fast as possible, so we can gain access to the building because we have a lot of stuff spoiling in the building, so we can continue the good work in the area,” one resident, Carl Bovell said. “We need our building to open, because the youths keep coming and they can’t go in, we need our building, because it is a community building,” said another resident. If the situation is not solved within the next few days, the residents said that they will turn to the streets