AFC to review partnership with APNU after latest violation

— refuses to accept Patterson’s resignation as General Secretary, MP

The Alliance For Change (AFC) has decided to review its partnership with A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), after the latest violation by its coalition partner when the larger party bullied its way to installing its own nominee for the Region Four Vice Chairman position.

This was communicated in a press statement sent out by the AFC, after an extraordinary meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) on Sunday. According to the party, it considered APNU’s breach of the revised Cummingsburg Accord, which provided for the AFC to name its own Vice Chairperson for Regions Four and Seven.
“The Alliance For Change behaved honourably and with integrity and would have upheld the Accord and Addendum. The party also noted the responses offered by the Leader of APNU as to the reasons why the similar provision was not upheld by APNU,” the AFC said in its statement.

“The NEC was of the strong view, that a fundamental breach of the Accord was committed, as such a committee has been established to provide guidance and recommendations to the party on the continued effectiveness of the Accord as well as a review of the mechanisms to effect any future agreements.”
The AFC also announced that it considered the letter of resignation that AFC General Secretary David Patterson submitted in protest of APNU’s treatment of the smaller party. Patterson tendered his resignation as both General Secretary and Member of Parliament. However, the party executives have not accepted it and have urged him to reconsider.
According to the AFC, the committee that will be reviewing the political decay of the Cummingsburg Accord is expected to submit its report within 10 days, after which another NEC meeting will be held, on October 18, 2020. The AFC said that in light of this, Patterson has agreed to defer any decision on his resignation to this later date.
Patterson had tendered his resignation as General Secretary of the party and as Member of Parliament, in the wake of last week’s dispute over the election of the Vice Chairman for the Region Four Regional Democratic Council (RDC).
The agreement, which Patterson helped craft, had stipulated that the AFC would get the Vice Chair positions in Regions Seven and Four. Indeed, it did get its own candidate elected to the Region Seven Vice Chairman position. But following the election of APNU candidate, former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Captain Daniel Seeram as the Region Four Chairman, things went awry. AFC had nominated Neilson McKenzie for the Region Four Vice Chairman position, APNU nominated Samuel Sandy and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) nominated Desmond Morian.
Voting was along party lines, as APNU and PPP cast their 14 votes each for their candidates and the AFC with its five votes backed McKenzie. Seeram then used his deciding vote as Chairman to elect Sandy, prompting the fallout.
Since it came into office after joining forces with the APNU in 2015, the minority AFC has been criticised for the submissive role it has been playing to the abusive APNU. Decisions the former Government made, such as the closure of sugar estates, which put thousands of sugar workers out of jobs, were passed unchallenged and even supported by the AFC. This is despite the AFC retaining the Agriculture Ministry.
This passive relationship with APNU was cited by former AFC parliamentarian Charrandas Persaud, as one of the reasons he voted for the No-Confidence Motion that brought down the APNU/AFC Government in 2018.
In addition, there has been the former Government’s strategic reallocation of responsibilities away from Ministries that were headed by AFC officials, to other Ministries. This has included removing oil and gas from former Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and citizenship from former Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan.
There is also the fact that despite the Cummingsburg Accord containing stipulations that should have seen former Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo being vested with the responsibility for chairing Cabinet and domestic issues, the former APNU Government never honoured this.