After 27 years of service to the people of the Toco/ Sangre Grange region and T&T, former Sangre Grande Regional Corporation (SGRC) chairman and present councillor for Valencia East/Toco Terry Martin Rondon is now calling on the public to assist him.
He has been ailing for some time and is in need of emergency surgery abroad.
Speaking at the last Statutory Meeting at the corporation, Rondon said he will be unable to come to the council’s Chamber due to his illness.
Earlier this month, Rondon announced that he will be bowing out of active politics.
He said, “For the past 27 years, I have graced this hall as the councillor for Toco, now Valencia East/Toco and last year I had a surgery—surgical spine infusion and what the doctors have discovered three months ago is that in my lower back there is another problem that I am facing with my spine and this is causing me a lot of problems in walking and standing,” Rondon said.
He added: “I realise that I can no longer come up the 21 steps to this hall and for me, it is very sad that I cannot attend to the meeting in this Chamber– a place I call my second home but all is not lost. I will continue serving my people from home, but most of all making sure that the people from Valencia East/Toco get what belongs to them.”
Rondon said he was sad to know that he would not be able to serve his people the way that he would like and he is happy that he has capable people to assist in helping the many that depend on his office for relief.
“I do hope that I would not be away for too long and as I speak I am in a lot of pain and I pray that the good Lord gives me health and strength to continue for the people,” he said.
Rondon has served the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation for over 20 years and served as chairman for two terms.
Chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation Anil Juteram stood in solidarity with Rondon.
Responding to Rondon’s plight, he said the council will not leave Rondon stranded and all that he needed will be facilitated.
Rondon is expected to travel to the United States early next year for spinal corrective surgery. The cost of the overall procedure is still being determined.
Juteram said, “We can bring together some help for you and we are no strangers to that type of work, we have eleven council members despite they may be coming from different political vehicles but at the end of the day we as council members learnt a lot from you and we were under you for three years and we learnt how to love and how to be compassionate towards people. Some of us had those traits but you showed us as a chairman that was one of the number of traits to become a council member.”
He added: “That the time has come for politicians to put Trinidad and Tobago first, this political sword we have that is driving the hearts and the dagger of people mindset that is doing a lot in terms of polarising this country, the enemy we have in this country is COVID-19 and at times I am so ashamed to call myself a politician because instead of us coming together put aside whatever affiliations and political symbols, we are busy casting blame and the bigger picture is that Trinidad and Tobago is forgotten in the conversation and please politicians the time is now and it is not going to fall from the sky. We are in difficult times our infrastructure in the health sector is at its knees and it is time that we show the world that Trinidad and Tobago is a mature country.”
The council agreed that a fund would be set up in the name of Councillor Terry Martin Rondon.
Adding support behind Rondon was vice chairman Kenneth Phillip.
He said, “I think as councillors we are mistreated and we tend to be forgotten for the effort that we put out and to see councillor Rondon putting out his effort and in time of need we have to be begging for assistance. This could happen to anyone of us or any councillor in Trinidad and Tobago and is time our council put things in place so that as a council if something is to happen like this or some unforeseen sickness should happen, so we as a council will have something in place and I am asking that in the Sangre Grande region we set up a fund in the name of councillor Rondon and we would now ask people and corporate Trinidad and Tobago because it would be going to Councillor Rondon’s health,” Phillip said.
Anyone willing to assist Rondon can contact the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation.