AFC demands more meetings with APNU coalition partner in Govt

Cummingsburg Accord review

Members of the Alliance For Change (AFC) are calling for Government to hold more meetings with leaders of parties that make up the Coalition Administration.
The call was made by an eight-member body that is currently reviewing the Cummingsburg Accord.
The agreement between ‘A Partnership for National Unity’ (APNU) and the ‘Alliance For Change’ was signed in February 2015, weeks before national and regional elections were held in May 2015.
On Thursday, executive members of the AFC party, during a press conference, alluded to suggestions made by the review team during the party’s National Executive Conference (NEC) on August 5. Among the issues raised is the need for the governing Administration to hold more meetings with its constituent parties.
“There was a review of the agreement where several suggestions were made, among them the need for better mechanism of interparty discussions and the introductions of boards at the regional level… There are suggestions on how cabinet should be reporting back to the various parties; that Government should hold more meetings with the Heads of the various parties”, AFC executive member David Patterson told journalists.
He said that following an analytical report of the Cummingsburg Accord, done at the AFC’s National Executive Meeting, the party reaffirmed its commitment to the Coalition Administration and committed to the continuity of the “Accord”.
The review team had also identified several defects in the Cummingsburg Accord, and has been encouraged to continue looking over that document. Another report is expected at the next NEC Conference, Patterson said.
Concerns raised by the AFC are similar to those raised by the Working People’s Alliance, another member political unit within the APNU. Back in June, that party had raised eyebrows when it came out publicly condemning Government for side-lining it, and for not meeting with members of the WPA — which forms part of the APNU coalition. The outcry saw President David Granger expressing disapproval at making the issue a public spectacle.
The Working People’s Alliance had, in 2011, joined forces with the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the Guyana Action Party (GAP) and the Justice for All Party (JFAP), among others, to form A Partnership for National Unity coalition.
The APNU coalition met in July last, for the first time in two years. (Alexis Rodney)