Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: The best insight, instant feedback, accountability. The all new talk radio Freedom 106.5.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: I do have an interview at this point in time, and there are some events taking place at UE when it comes to the guild, some allegations, and a call for the guild president to step down and all of these things.
And joining us here this morning to speak about it is former UE guild president McKesy Peters. Good morning to you.
[00:00:33] Speaker C: Good morning. Good morning.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: Nice to have you with us here this morning. Let's begin by allowing you to familiarize listeners with you, tell us a bit about yourself and some of the things that you're involved in.
[00:00:45] Speaker C: So I am McKeesey Peters. I was the Uegill president during the period 2015 to 2017. I served two terms on the regale of students in the Lustin campus guild.
While I was there, we would have had one of the largest student population, largely because of gate being accessible to all. At that point in time, we had about 18,000 students on campus. So back then it was quite massive. There has been some changes from since then. Today I'm more involved in policy work, working with the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government as we move things forward ahead. So that's an introduction from me.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: What are the issues taking place at the UE and the guild at this point in time?
[00:01:37] Speaker C: So, based on my understanding, the president of the current guild would have took a decision to put a relative as her treasurer.
Based on my understanding and knowledge on how the constitution of the guild functions and work, or once a position becomes vacant on the Uwe Guild of students, that position now goes up for by election. And that is the date of the election is determined by the council alongside the returning office, of which the council appoints the GIl treasurer. The president and the secretary of the Gill are the three signatories to Gil accounts.
For many years, the GIL has always been a target of misuse and mismanagement. I must say. Campus administration stepped in and put a lot of rules and a lot of policies in place to prevent misspending and overspending in some regards and to ensure accountability. So from since 2017 to present, I could say that those positions that I just mentioned, they are still the signatories to Gail accounts, and therefore, there must be some level of serious accountability and transparency where those positions are concerned. The students of the UWI, and more so those who are immediately affected by the current decision of the current president, they have all reached out expressing their unhappiness of the current guild president, putting a sibling to manage GIl funds, if that is in fact, true, I, as a former GIL president, would like to caution the council against such approach, and therefore a new approach need to be looked at urgently.
[00:03:37] Speaker B: What are the concerns with the development of putting a relative?
If there are three signatories, is there still not a check and balance or what's the concern?
[00:03:48] Speaker C: So the concern, I think, by most students is more so of collusion.
Some persons believe that being the treasurer of the GaIl, you are the custodian of all Gail accounts. You have the power to move monies from one allocation to the next. There are several initiatives.
I mean, we have a new UE semester coming up just now where we have a lot of year ones coming to, and there are several events, freshers, there is orientation week and then two, you have sponsors who will be reaching out to the gill to get their products and to highlight their businesses, new students coming on campus. So bearing that in mind and the mere fact that that person having such a close relationship with the president, students believe that there's a serious concern for collusion and it's a rightful feeling that has always been the case. But I'll tell you this, I am not here to cast any aspersions upon the current president, nor the decision that was taken to appoint the relative in question. However, if it was done, I am hoping that perhaps it was done as an interim measure while the by elections and other stakeholders are coming together to work forward a solution, if in fact it's a long term solution. However, I want to again caution the executive against such practices. Based on my knowledge and based on my time on campus, something like that would not have been allowed.
[00:05:29] Speaker B: Would this be a unilateral decision or would there have to have been some board or some group of people who would have ratified this decision?
[00:05:38] Speaker C: Well, as the president of the UWI, Gail, you also have the power to veto, right? So, you know, you have an executive that forms part of your overall decision and you have a council, a wider council of about 24 to 25 members.
So there was no one person or one body of persons agreeing. This was, I want to believe, based on the articles and based on my communications with other parties, that this was a unilateral decision made by the said president. And I think the students more or less, and the executive and the council are having some issues in terms of accountability.
[00:06:20] Speaker B: What are the options available? Let's just say that because from what you're saying, it doesn't seem as though this was something illegal or this was something that was barred by some guidelines somewhere there's a moral ethical thing we're talking about here.
[00:06:34] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:06:35] Speaker B: And we all know that morals and ethics are subjective things. Depending on who you ask, what they could give you a different answer. But let's just say that from the discussions, there are enough people who feel aggrieved by this decision. What are the options available?
[00:06:50] Speaker C: Well, students could raise a vote of no confidence. There is something called general counsel or what you, annual student conference, where all the students come together, where the gal of students have to account for their performance, and a vote of no confidence can be moved in that setting. The council could also take a vote of no confidence against the sitting president, and it must gather the support of the majority of the council in which they could remove the president.
Campus administration don't get involved in the gill affair unless it's something drastically illegal and requires higher action. But campus administration actually acknowledges the democracy that exists on the guild of students. At least when I was there, they would have given input and guidance.
However, I want to go back to the statement you just made that it was mainly based on morals and ethics, and we could see in the political landscape that is Trinidad and Tobago, there has been persons in high positions across the country, even in the same government, who are relatives and coincide with each other. So these things are not new. However, in a guild of students, a body of students representing x amount of students, where at a young age, I could tell you when I was about, I just became guild president when I was just about 24 years old, and at 24 years old, I was managing a budget of about $4.1 million. At that point in time, if you multiply the student fees that come in, 250, 65, somewhere about, I don't know if it increased, but between $250 to $265 is guilty for most students. And at that time, I had 18,000 students, both accounted for off campus students, students living on hall, and international students as well. So when you have that pool of money coming in as the Gil executive and as the guild treasurer, Gil president, you all know, set the direction as to where monies are spent, where it goes in terms of student development, are you willing to invest into meaningful, sustainable projects? So when coming to these questions and the allocations of it is, it is right for one to assume at a young age that there may be some sort of confusion, but it is not wrong. I want to state it is not wrong for somebody looking at that. It's not wrong. But once there are clear concerns, I think it should be looked at. And I want to encourage the Gil president, current president, to listen to her students and see where she could actually make some changes to improve and to keep the integrity of the gill intact.
[00:09:58] Speaker B: How long ago was this development where this person, who's said to be a relative or whatever, was installed, how long ago did that happen?
[00:10:07] Speaker C: Based on reports that I'm seeing the guild, this guild just came into office, so they would have assumed office sometime in April, April of this year. So I want to believe this. This has been brewing for almost two months now, within the last two months. So it literally has reached a boiling point. I think it has reached a boiling point. Hence the reason it is now within the public domain.
[00:10:32] Speaker B: In the two months or so that this development took place, are there instances that happened with the finances of the guild that raise questions?
[00:10:42] Speaker C: Well, I'm not at the. About their finances. I haven't really looked at their finances. What I could tell you is that there has been a call for an audit into the spending. This new president came in with a mandate, and her mandate was to look at accountability. And I will tell you, when you question the status quo in any organization, people will always become fearful, and they will always cast aspersions and make all sorts of rumors. So therefore, it's a. It's a, it's a story of. Of he say, she say, and I applaud. In fact, the current guild president, when she assumed office, she reached out to me for some sort of guidance as to how spending occurred and how practices existed back then for guidance. And it is after that question of accounting accountability is when all of this came to the forefront in terms of her relatively engaged as the treasurer, etcetera. But as I said, these are more, he says, she say, more on the realm of bacchanal, if you have to put it in local parlance.
We focus on the facts, and to me, the facts is one. The students are unhappy that the fact that the gill president would have chose a sibling to sit in a very critical position as treasurer, it is not right in terms of morals and ethics, but in terms of actual practice and the person's ability to do the job. If in fact, the person is qualified and it was voted on by an executive in an interim measure, then perhaps that could work. But if you're looking at in terms of constitution, a by election need to be held and the students need to know vote in a new treasurer to hold such a critical post in terms of transparency and accountability, I believe that is the main mission, and that is why the president within herself is being questioned on those, on taking that stance.
[00:12:45] Speaker B: Yeah, the information in the public domain suggests that all of this brouhaha started after the president said she's going to look into the finances and some of the spending patterns that took place prior to her and her executive assuming office.
Yes, and that in itself could suggest that somebody Haku in the sun and they're looking for rain.
[00:13:07] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:13:08] Speaker B: So it's a number of issues that are cropping up at the same point in time. How do you see this as you wrap up, how do you see this playing out? What are the scenarios that could happen?
[00:13:24] Speaker C: Well, these things, as I said, happens in every council, all councils. They have the little squabbles here and there.
The tenure of the council is just one year.
By next year, March, they're looking to go into the next election.
So as we go into the new academic year at the UWiHen, students have an option. If they are severely disgruntled, they can call an early election, they can protest, they can take it to the student council body. They could move a vote of no confidence. But as it stands right now, I believe it will remain in limbo. Campus administration has taken a forward approach I have seen correspondence where the campus administration has taken a forward approach to work with the gill in solving this matter in house. And I'm very confident in our campus administration in doing that, especially the office of the campus registrar. So that is my input.
I want to encourage the girl in my closing remarks to ensure that their mandate remains centered, focused on the student population, especially our regional students. Because regional students suffer the most coming from their homeland to Trinidad, and therefore their responsibility should focus on how do you improve the lives of the students on campus, providing the amenities and giving them all the support so that their journey on campus will be a very fruitful one.
This is a very trying time for the guild, but I'm confident, just like other guilds and other guild presidents, they will move forward and campus administration will hold their hands through this.
[00:15:10] Speaker B: I just want to drop the curtains on the interview, but thank you so much for being here and explaining from your perspective, as you admitted time and time again, that you don't really have the hands on because you're not as involved as you were, but you do have an understanding of how things work. I want to thank you for being with me and explaining, being with us here and explaining some of these intricacies about what's going on at the UE girl. Thank you once again.
[00:15:32] Speaker C: Thank you so much and thank you to your listeners.
[00:15:34] Speaker A: The best insight, instant feedback, accountability the all new talk radio Freedom 106.5.
