Roy Sanford, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE MAROON Board of Elders has endorsed the candidacy of Meridie Rowe in the upcoming election for colonel of the Accompong Maroons slated for April 6.
"The Board of Elders is 100 per cent behind the candidacy of Meredie Rowe," said Ferron Williams, a representative of the 12-member board who spoke on its behalf, in an interview with The Gleaner on Tuesday.
He said the board decided to throw its support behind Mr. Rowe because incumbent Colonel Sydney Peddie's rule has been autocratic and lacking in transparency and leadership.
"Colonel Peddie does not operate a democratic Maroon Council," Mr. Williams said. "As a matter of fact we think that he is autocratic because he is running things with only three persons and no quorum."
But in defending his stewardship Colonel Peddie described Mr. Williams' accusations as 'malicious' and 'disruptive.'
He noted that the present Maroon Council consists of 17 members with whom he meets on a regular basis. He said that sometimes not a single council member turns up when meetings are called, though he added that this was the exception and not the rule.
"So to say that I am autocratic is not true at all and everyone in Accompong knows that," Colonel Peddie told The Gleaner on Tuesday.
Mr. Williams pointed out that Colonel Peddie seems unable to give an accurate account of the community's finances. But again Col. Peddie disagreed. "When it comes to a lack of transparency I am not guilty of that," he said.
The Maroon Board of Elders is a group of Maroons, which essentially gives advice to the Maroon Council. Although the board has no political powers, its influence among the Maroons is said to be strong.
