Sinn Féin MLAs welcome Ugandan choir

North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA and joint first minister Martin McGuinness were on hand to welcome an African choir to the North.
Seventeen children from four different schools in Uganda that have been affected by poverty, depravation and conflict have banded together to form a choir and spent four weeks in the North on a singing and dancing tour.
The ‘Voices of Life’ choir raised funds to give boys and girls from Burundi, a tiny East African country, that has just come out of years of bitter civil war and through conflict resolution is struggling to heal old wounds and build a better future, an equal opportunity for an education and a brighter future.

PSNI failure to meet crime targets slammed by Sinn Féin councillor

Sinn Féin councillor Conor Maskey said with so many 'x's in the PSNI's latest quarterly report for April through to June it felt like something out of the X Factor.
The PSNI in it’s North Belfast division failed to make the grade in 13 out of 17 categories
"Simon Cowell would have a field day with us although in terms of talent spotting, he might have a hard time," the Sinn Fein councillor quipped.
The incoming chair of the North Belfast DPP said police must do more to improve their figures.
"The figures are a damning indictment of their performance, The police themselves say there are too many officers pushing paper and on top of funding shortfalls they clearly have serious issues facing them.
“The only way they are going to achieve better results is through pure partnership initiatives like the multi-agency meetings with community and other statutory organisations,” said the Sinn Féin representative.
"We believe the best way of addressing the problems in our community is not just effective policing, but effective community policing, and the community part is essential."
There are good news stories too the Sinn Fein councillor added, such as efforts to engage with residents over vandalism and anti-social issues.
"The figures only tell a part of the story and it is important to acknowledge that there is hard work being done on the ground," he said.
"Sometimes the success stories won't be reflected in statistics. However the PSNI design a plan every year in co-operation with the DPP's and against those targets they clearly aren't doing the job."

Protest cancelled because of pressure from residents - Kelly

The decision to call off a protest at a multi-agency meeting in Ardoyne Community Centre has been welcomed by North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly.
"I welcome the fact that RNU have withdrawn the threat to protest against the regular multi agency meetings that are held in North Belfast," said the Sinn Féin MLA.
"Clearly they [RNU] called it wrong and withdrew the threat because of pressure from residents themselves.
"These public meetings are for the residents and the rest of the community sector to discuss issues with the statutory bodies who service the community and also to hold them to account if these services are not fulfilling their role."

Kelly challenges supermarket giant on price difference

North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly has challenged supermarket giant, Tesco on the pricing of their petrol which is priced higher in North Belfast than in the affluent hinterlands of Holywood.
The Republican representative said he was deeply concerned that car owners had to pay four pence more for unleaded petrol at Tesco's Yorkgate garage in comparison with its outlet at Knocknagoney.
"North Belfast is an area of deprivation and yet Tesco is charging more for their fuel than in an area which is very affluent. It is very unfair," said Kelly.
"We will certainly be asking Tesco to explain themselves about this. We regularly meet them about other issues like anti-social behaviour so we will certainly be raising this matter at future meetings."
"This is an injustice and a clear equality issue. How can they seriously stand over charging poorer people more? We call for Tesco to take into account that this is an area of deprivation and high unemployment and to redress the balance."
Those topping up their car at Knockgoney not only fork out four pence less for a litre for unleaded petrol but also three pence less for diesel.

Road should stay open during parade - SF Councillor

Sinn Féin councillor Tierna Cunningham has called on the PSNI to ensure the Whitewell Road is open to traffic during this Saturday's loyalist band parade after the road was closed for four hours last year despite the Parades Commission ruling it should stay open.
This Saturday 30 bands are to descend on the Whitewell Road to take part in the Whitewell Defenders Flute Band parade, which was previously known as the Thomas McDonald Memorial Parade.
Although there was no official determination on last year's parade the Parades Commission said it could go ahead as long as one lane of traffic on the Whitewell Road was kept open.
Despite this for a large parts of the weekend parade the whole road was closed to traffic which had to be diverted at the bridge and bottom of the Whitewell Road, leading MLA Carál Ní Chuilín to hit out at the PSNI for failing to keep disruption to a minimum.
This year the parading body have again made no official ruling on the parade but said they are "working on an assurance that the parade will not close the road to traffic".
Sinn Féin councillor Tierna Cunningham said she hopes this year the PSNI work to the Parades Commission recommendation and ensures the road is kept open.
"I hope the police act according to the ruling of the Parades Commission and make sure that traffic can get up and down the road and disruption is kept to a minimum," she said.
"I hope the parade passes off peacefully with no trouble."

Responsible parenting needed after park vandalised - Cunningham

The only children's play park in the Whitewell area is under threat of closure after vandals caused thousands of pounds worth of damage over the weekend.
Local Sinn Féin councillor Tierna Cunningham was in the park as Belfast City Council staff attempted to clean up the worst of the damage.
"I called a meeting here on Monday to observe the damage and see the council staff try and clear it up," said the Republican representative.
"I totally condemn this and am very disappointed that it was local people who did this. All I hear is that there is nothing to do for young people in the area but here there was a play park and they have destroyed it.
"I sometimes drive past the park at 2.30am at the weekends and see kids as young as 12 years old still in the park. What we need here is responsible parenting. They need to know where their children are and what they are doing."
Finlay Park was attacked by thugs who set fire to swings and used a saw to damage equipment and the mounting bill for the upkeep of the park is becoming so high that Belfast City Council, who undertake the upkeep of the park, are considering giving up maintenance of the facility.

Sinn Féin councillor logs complaint over unfinished housing estate

Sinn Féin councillor Margaret McClenaghan has logged a complaint with the Health and Safety Executive over the way a brand new housing estate in Ligoniel has been left unfinished.
Wolfhill Manor is a private housing estate just off the Ligoniel Road and despite residents moving in over three years ago, much work remains to be done.
Unfinished roads and pavements and a muck-filled football-sized pitch, which hasn't been properly secured, are all unacceptable say residents.
Margaret McClenaghan said she had made several enquiries on behalf of residents and made a complaint to the Health and Safety Executive. She is also trying to organise a meeting between the builder and residents.
"I've been in contact with the council about the fact that three years on, the area still doesn't even have an official street name," she said.
"Part of the site isn't secured properly and the roads and pavements clearly are not up to scratch. People are not happy and they feel as if they've been treated very shabbily here,” said the Sinn Féin Councillor.
The DRD Roads Service said they were taking the matter very seriously and had now initiated enforcement action in which the developer has a final opportunity to complete the outstanding works.
Should the developer not respond positively to the Notice by the end of September, Roads Service will arrange to undertake the remedial works at the developer's expense as soon as a Roads Service contractor becomes available.

The community and Sinn Féin are holding the statutory bodies to account

By Carál Ní Chuilín

In May this year my party colleague Gerry Kelly MLA and I organised a meeting in Ardoyne of all the statutory agencies, who have a role in the regeneration of the area and particularly all those who have a responsibility for community safety.
We also invited a broad section of youth and community workers to the meeting, interface workers, local clergy, school teachers, housing associations and members of the residents associations to discuss collective approaches to solving problems faced by the people of Ardoyne and the Bone and to hold the statutory bodies to account.
The first meeting was in response to the escalation in tension at interfaces around the Easter period but it quickly broadened out into a discussion on crime, drugs and anti-social behaviour in the area in general.
The groups involved have continued to come together on a fortnightly basis since that initial get together and the local Ardoyne Marrowbone Community Forum has now taken on the leading role in organising the meetings.
The make up of the meetings varies slightly from fortnight to fortnight with the SDLP now also regularly represented but input from the statutory bodies which include the Housing Executive; Belfast City Council’s Community Safety Partnership; Belfast Education Library Board; PSNI; Fire & Rescue Service; BCC’s Good Relations Unit; Probation Board; Youth Justice Agency and Victim Support continues to be solid.
While the initial meeting was called to look at community responses to anti-social behaviour and crime in the area the remit has widened out to look at housing issues such as repairs and the reopening of vacant homes for use by families on the waiting lists, demands for traffic calming, hotspots, the sale of alcohol to teenagers, the impact of Orange parades and interfaces.
Some of the most powerful contributions to date have been from ordinary residents who have told those present how crime or anti-social behaviour has impacted on them.
They have taken the police, the council and others to task about their responses to these issues and have come back to ensure that their complaints have been acted on.
This forum is open to all and with all the relevant bodies around the table they have enabled us to share information and resources, which have helped to tackle problems identified by the people living in the area.
On Friday last however, I was at the multi agency meeting when we were told by the centre manager that two people claiming to be from the Republican Network for Unity said they will be organising protests at future meetings.
While this news was is very disappointing for all who have taken part in the meetings to date, there is a huge determination among all those in attendance not to be deflected from the work to try to make Ardoyne and the Bone a better and safer place for the people who live there.
The meetings will continue regardless of the protests as there is too much to be done to allow ourselves to be knocked off course by any interest group.
I can only assume not having spoken to the members of RNU who made the threat that their problem is with the PSNI.
Of course people have the right to protest. However I would say to those involved in this threat that there are a number of ways they can make their opposition to policing clear without disrupting a community meeting attempting to tackle issues of justice as well as the legacy of decades of discrimination and inequality.
I would remind RNU that only two years ago the people of Ardoyne voted in their thousands to mandate Sinn Féin to engage with the PSNI and to make them accountable to the community.
There is no better way to make policing democratically accountable than have the PSNI explain its actions or inactions directly to the residents.
I challenge RNU therefore to explain to the community what their proposals on policing and anti-social behaviour are, how they propose to tackle crime, drugs, rape, assaults on the person and the social and economic problems which cause them.
We all know what they are against but that’s not enough, they should tell the community what they are for and let the people decide.
In the meantime I would urge them to join with the residents and others who are trying to build a better future rather than waste their energies in protests designed only to disrupt.

Let the community get on with it

By Sean Mag Uidhir
So the so-called Republican Network for Unity, which is in fact the complete opposite of that, have threatened to picket a multi agency meeting being held fortnightly in Ardoyne Community Centre.
The warcry of the RNU and the mind boggling amount of other microgroups in Ardoyne has been that the district has been going to the dogs and that no one is doing anything about it.
However while members of the RNU have been sitting moaning over their pints about the state of the place community activists, the political parties, the schools, representatives of local residents' groups, the churches, youth workers and local housing associations have been sitting down with all the statutory providers who have a duty to deliver proper services to our community.
The statutory bodies include the Housing Executive, the PSNI, Social Services, the Fire Service, Belfast City Council, Belfast Regeneration Office, the Department of Social Development and Community wardens, everyone of them with an important role to play in making Ardoyne a safer and better place.
To date local people have raised concerns about the delays in bringing empty homes back into use, the destruction of the car park at Havana Way, anti-social behaviour at the Brompton Gap, the use by children of bongs while on their way to school, alleygating where people feel that entries are being used for drug abuse, the sale of drink to underage children, the problems associated with Orange parades as well as the recent abuse of police powers during July when plastic bullets were fired.
These are only some of the issues raised so far in these meetings with people trying to make those with a responsibility in tackling these problems accountable be that the PSNI, the council, the housing bodies.
At present the multi-agency meeting is one of the most democratic forums in the area with ordinary people telling those who are falling down on the job how their needs can be met.
This is a genuine example of putting power in the hands of the people.
So if I am reading RNU's position properly their problem with all of this is that the PSNI are present at the meetings.
If this is the case I could suggest a number of other forms that such a protest against the PSNI could take.
First I would start at the long trusted and tried protest against the PSNI and that would be to start at the barracks, any PSNI barracks.
That way they could make it very clear that their protest is not against St Gemma's School or Holy Cross Boys, that it isn't against the SDLP and Sinn Féin, that they are not opposed to the district's youth clubs, the Old Ardoyne and Jamaica Ardglen Residents, Fr Gary or Fr Ciaran Dallat for that matter, the Women's Group or the Ardoyne Association and on top of that their problem isn't with the council or any of the other statutory bodies.
However, if protesting at the barracks is too difficult and the protests are going to be against a community, which has already voted overwhelmingly for engagement with all statutory bodies then could I suggest how to take the protest all the way.
Let's picket the monastery as we all know that Fr Gary has been working with the police in taking illegal drugs out of circulation, often supported in doing so by the fellow travellers of the protestors.
Then let's picket every pub, club and off licence because they've been working with the cops for years to get and keep their licences and the membership books of the clubs and all their details are all handed over for inspection.
When we put the clubs out of business we can then picket the homes of the car owners, as they're regularly working with the cops producing licences and documents. Next up has to be anyone whose home has been burgled as they report it to the cops to get their insurance.
Then there’s the victims of assault, as other than being carried into the hospital they too have to report it if they are to get their compensation.
Then there’s all those hundreds of people in Ardoyne who have already phoned the police this year to report crime.
The next group could be a little bit tricky but hey if RNU's out to get anyone in the community working with the cops we can’t stop now.
Let's picket the victims of rape, abuse and sex crime who also have had to work with police in locking up the rapists, the paedophiles and the perverts.
You could really have a run at all of this with a little thought but I suppose it's easier to just walk round from a club, which has a great relationship with the police, to protest at all those people in the community who are trying to make the area a better place for all.
Still given that we have already had one micro group threatening all the community workers in the area earlier this year it is little surprise that some Einstein in RNU thinks that the way forward for the people of Ardoyne is a protest against the community, another fine example of the U in Unity.

Sinn Féin councillor and Deputy Mayor praises council staff

Sinn Féin councillor and Deputy Mayor Danny Lavery commended council staff for cleaning up an entry in North Belfast that was almost waist high in rubbish and infested with rats because of fly tippers.
Belfast City Council staff were forced to launch a major clean up of the alleyway this week after it became impassable because of the build up of rubbish.
The alleyway between Allworthy Avenue and Eia Street was cleared by council staff on Tuesday morning.
The Deputy Mayor of Belfast commended the council staff for their work and called on those dumping the rubbish to stop.
"The state of the entry way was an absolute disgrace, it was just an jungle and overcome with rats," said the Sinn Féin representative.
"I want to thank the council staff for coming out and clearing the alley. I know it is their job but the state of this one was particularly bad and they put their own health and safety at risk by clearing it.
"I want to call on those who are fly tipping and dumping rubbish to stop it immediately. They are harming their own community by acting like this."

Sinn Féin councillor Conor Maskey welcomes SDLP U-Turn on Hillman St Flats

Sinn Féin’s New Lodge Councillor Conor Maskey has welcomed the decision at this month’s full council to reject the Planning Committee’s opinion that 12 flats could be built in the New Lodge’s Hillman Street.
He also pointed to the fact that if it weren’t for a change of heart by councillors from other parties the plans for the flats would have got the green light.
Planning approval was sought for McCrory Memorial Presbyterian Church on Duncairn Gardens, which would have seen 12 flats built in its place with access from Hillman Street.
Last month the Planning committee endorsed the Planning Office’s opinion to approve this development by a vote of 5-4, with Sinn Féin’s four councillors standing alone in opposition.
New Lodge Councillor Conor Maskey then brought a proposal to the full council seeking an overturn of the committee’s decision.
Speaking afterwards Cllr Maskey said: “I asked the full council meeting to reconsider the planning committee’s opinion that these flats would be given the green light on two basis: (1) There are no flats currently in Hillman Street and this would set a dangerous precedent; and (2) The residents of the long streets have been messed about too much through the on-going saga regarding redevelopment that this would be the last thing they needed and could, in fact, sway the redevelopment issue further away.
“I purposefully asked for last night’s vote to be recorded because some councillors, and in particular SDLP’s Alban Maginess, spoke against our position at committee stage and abstained from the vote, effectively ensuring the flats would get committee approval.
“I welcome Alban’s sudden turnaround on the issue last night and would appeal to the Planning office to respect the will of the council, but more importantly the residents, when making their final decision.”