‘I will be back in frontline politics’ – Vanessa Kissoon vows

…says taking step back from PNC to focus on women, youth

A former Member of Parliament (MP) for the People’s National Congress (PNC), Lindener Vanessa Kissoon, was once part of the frontline party workers at the national and regional levels.
Now she has taken a step back from that frontline party work in an effort to focus on her educational career, family, and work with women and youth. She is,

however, not ruling out a return to big politics.
“Sometimes I believe that in life we have to step back,” Kissoon related in an interview with this publication. “By God’s grace, I still have youth, and like I said, by God’s grace let’s say I have time, because you can’t determine what tomorrow brings. But I believe that by God’s grace I don’t think that my political career is finished. But sometimes you need to take a step back and watch from a distance.”
When it comes to the contemporary politics of the PNC, part of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Kissoon noted that there are some concerns from the people in her region. And she urged the administration to put its ear to the ground to listen.
“Persons on the ground, they have concerns with the way things are being managed in Region 10. Like the old adage rings, ‘there’s always room for improvement’. And I believe there is strength in some areas and, of course, like any other organisation, you have weaknesses,” she explained.
“Sometimes, though, you know, the buck might stop at the head. We have to be careful of the representation that we’re getting from the branches. So I think better is expected. I know persons are looking forward for more, but things are happening.”
In the meantime, Kissoon remains an educator at Mackenzie High School in Linden. She has also founded and coordinates the Linden Youth Corps, a non-governmental organisation (NGO). She has also founded a Virtuous Women on a Mission group.
“My women’s group would have had a domestic violence workshop. Coming out of that workshop, we had women benefitting from one-week-free internet classes at the LTI institute,” Kissoon explained.
“There’s now follow-up sessions; we’re now having 12 weeks, and some meet on Tuesday, some meeting on Wednesday, from seven to nine. We had them based on their ability and knowledge. So I still have my plate full,” she remarked.
Kissoon became a PNC/R Parliamentarian back in 2006. During her time as a Parliamentarian, she took a leading role as a political and social activist. At one time during her stint, she was suspended from the party after a rift erupted following a Congress Place decision to appoint another politician as coordinator for the region. The appointment of Sandra Abrams was contested by persons from the region.
In a PNC/R statement issued in July of 2014, the declaration was, “It was evident from the outset that certain persons resented the appointment and resisted attempts to allow the Coordinator to be given access to the Party’s office.”
“These differences culminated in the June 20th incident at Congress Place, where party general secretary Oscar Clarke demanded the keys to the party’s regional facilities from Kissoon, and an altercation occurred. This incident led to the suspension of Kissoon.”
After this incident, and having served for two terms in the National Assembly, Kissoon was not returned to the APNU/AFC roster in 2015.