Galisbay:--- Five members of the territorial council who was elected on the Union pour les Progres slate has confirmed that they will submit their resignations to the president of the UPP party early this week and become independent members of the council.At a press conference on Saturday four of the five councillors namely Daniel Gibbs, Remi Williams, Annette Philips and Jean David Richardson told reporters that they have tried everything possible for the president of the Collectivity and senator to respect the program they campaigned on in 2007 but it fell on deaf ears. Marthe Ogoundele-Tessi who is also part of the group did not attend the press conference due to prior commitments.
The group also decided to form a new movement which is called the "Union for Democracy" will be the ears and the eyes of the people in the territorial council. Gibbs said when they entered the political arena in 2007 the idea was to have transparency and democracy both of which have been banished. Gibbs said he was punished because he has refused to what he was told to do vocally.
The intention is also to ask the COM to conduct a general audit of the Collectivity's finances as well as they would have to provide them with the administrative decisions. They also intend to stand up for the people's right to work, justice and security. The group which is led by first vice president Daniel Gibbs made clear that they have no personal interest to defend and as such the movement is open to all St. Martiners who shared their goals and wants to join them in their struggle.
Gibbs told reporters that the reasons given by the president for taking away his portfolios were not clear enough. Furthermore, he said when the decision was taken two Tuesday's ago to take away the portfolios by the executive council it was not on the agenda "orde du jour" making the president's action illegal based on the organic laws. Gibbs confirmed that he has a legal team looking at the procedures the COM took to relieve him of his portfolios.
SMN News learnt that Gibbs will soon be filing an injunction against the COM and its president. Notably the president has not named his vice presidents which is also in contradiction to the organic law.
Gibbs made clear that while he has resigned from the UPP party he will remain a vice president even though without portfolios because he has no intention to quit. "I am not a loser they evicted me by taking away my portfolios now they would have to go to the territorial council to take away me out.The council elected me as a vice president and they would have to fire me. All I am asking for is for the management of the COM to do things legally. As a politician I will be the eyes and the ears of the people as a vice president." Gibbs said the idea of being part of the majority was to solve the problems facing the nation and its people. He gave an example of the division between his office and the tourist office of which he was in charge. Gibbs said nothing was done to repair that situation. He said the senator said publicly that Gumbs is a good president but he is a bad leader yet he did nothing to correct the situation. He too said enough is enough and the time to pull away is now. However, he wants the president to tell him where he is at fault and in which area he did not deliver what was expected of him. He said they already prepared the tourism master plan where the water front project was included.
This master plan development he said received 22 out of the 23 votes and only councillor to vote against it was the president of the tourist office. Gibbs further explained that the French side government no longer has democracy instead there is monocracy since none of the other councillors cannot voice their opinion. Gibbs said nothing he did was good enough for the president and senator and he had two choices, one is either he accept what was happening and become an accomplice or to speak out against the dictatorship. The first vice president said his problems began when he questioned SEMSAMAR and asked for a general audit.
Territorial Councillor Jean David Richardson said when they were elected on the UPP slate in 2007 the goal was not to exclude anyone out of the decision making. He said one of his concerns is the decisions taken by the community councils and socio professionals which he said are normally pushed aside. Richardson said they have reached to a point where enough is enough especially since he is not in the political arena for any personal gains. "I want the people to know that I have not asked the COM for no car, laptop, or cellular telephone, whatever I do in the COM I use my own materials and property. I also want the people to know that I am not looking for anything for myself neither my family members. The people of St. Martin have too many problems already. I already told the first vice president that the time has come for politicians to stop enriching themselves instead they must enlarge the riches for the entire population."
Richardson said the people of St. Martin are hurting terribly and it's time for the politicians to come out of their comfort zone and mingle with the people who are struggling. He said right now one or two people are making money but the others are struggling to make ends meet. Richardson said within the three year period of this government they hired over 500 persons. He said had there been inclusion the socio-professionals could have been the ones to hire this lot. Richardson said they have reached the end of the road since those they were working with are deaf. Richardson said they were kicked aside by the political party because their opinions and point of views are not welcome. The territorial councillor said he has stepped aside to form this movement so that their voices or the voices of the people can be heard. Furthermore, he said he can no longer walk around the French side seeing the businesses closing down.Territorial Councillor Remi Williams said he developed confidence in Daniel Gibbs due to the stance he has taken. "Daniel is one person who stood up to the president and senator he always fought for his shoes. He was not one of them that did not sit back. Gibbs has shown leadership and has shown that he could take decisions regardless of what others may think." Williams said because of the leadership skills Gibbs has shown is the reason for him to be part of the movement. The territorial councillor said the COM lacks leadership since the president of the COM Frantz Gumbs is not able to take decisions fearing for those who will get hurt. Williams made clear that he does not want anyone to feel that they have decided to step aside because of the waterfront project. He said they simply believe enough is enough and they have decided to take stand.
Also sharing the same concerns were territorial councillor Annette Philips. She said somehow the president and the leadership of the UPP somehow seems to forget how and why they were elected. They also seem to forget the potentials in the other councillors especially the two first vice presidents who were evicted from the majority. Gibbs she said never failed to communicate with any of the councillors. Phillips said whenever Gibbs worked on anything he was always prepared and it is a total disgrace for the president and senator to look at him as someone who caused the conflicts or a problem to the group. Philips said they have had enough since decisions are being taken without them which hinges on democracy. She stressed that there is no team work in the UPP and she felt that St. Martin has lost a lot of time in fulfilling their mandate to the youths.The group further explained that when they expressed their opinion and did not follow what the president and senator wanted then they were victimized. Those that were victims of the government are Marthe Ogoundele Tessi, Daniel Gibbs and Jean David Richardson. Richardson said when he spoke out against the ills of this community and how the management of the COM works he was personally attacked by the system. Confirming the victimization was territorial councillor Remi Williams who said that if someone looks at how the portfolios were distributed they will see that they were left out which means that they were all victimized.