…President Ali confident engagement will be fruitful
Nearly one week after receiving formal invitation, former president David Granger is yet to respond to that invitation from President Dr Irfaan Ali to attend a meeting on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 to discuss ways in which they can work together to develop the country.
President Dr Irfaan Ali
Last Friday, President Ali disclosed that formal invitations were sent to the four former presidents for the “open floor” meeting, which he said is “…an opportunity for us to continue to share ideas, generate ideas; for us to talk about how we see Guyana’s development, different perspectives, and then to work out a model and a framework on how we engage in the future and how we will have continuous contributions.”
When contacted on Thursday, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, told Guyana Times that she has not yet received any communication from Granger regarding the upcoming meeting. In fact, Teixeira says she has not received any communication from any Opposition representatives on the matter.
Notwithstanding, President Ali told reporters that he is hopeful, and anticipating that the upcoming meeting would be a fruitful one and would see the presence of all the former presidents.
Former President David Granger
“I’m very confident that it will be a fruitful engagement and that all of Guyana will see all the former presidents acting responsibly and be a part of that [meeting],” the President posited at an event at the residence of the European Union (EU) Representative.
Ali further noted that in regard to the relationship and cooperation between his office and that of the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon, “Mr Harmon has not yet changed his position.”
Harmon and the Coalition Opposition have been claiming that the PPP/C Government is illegal – something which has been described as “duplicitous” by Government officials.
Nevertheless, the Head of State reiterated his government’s commitment to inclusivity, and said, “If we are to grow as a people, this has to be a two-way street.”
The current four former Guyanese Presidents are: Samuel Hinds, who briefly served as president in 1997; Bharrat Jagdeo, who served as Head of State from 1999 to 2011, and is currently a Vice President in the Ali Administration; Donald Ramotar, who served as President from 2011 to 2015; and David Granger, who served from 2015 to 2020.
Already, former presidents Ramotar and Hinds have confirmed to this publication that they would be attending the meeting. Former president Jagdeo is also likely to attend.
However, the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNC/) – which is headed by Granger and is the largest party in the APNU fraction of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change Coalition – had snubbed the invitation extended by Ali.
In fact, when contacted by this publication earlier this week for a comment on the meeting, PNC General Secretary Amna Ally poured cold water on the President’s invitation and reiterated her party’s non-recognition of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government.
She also contended that “Granger has to answer for himself [whether he will attend the meeting].”
Efforts to contact Granger have since proved futile. The former president has also not made any public statement indicating whether or not he will be attending the meeting which is set for December 15.
President Ali assumed office as Guyana’s 9th Executive President in August, following five months of electoral and political deadlock following the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.
The former David Granger-led APNU/AFC administration had refused to concede defeat at the March 2 polls and demit office. In fact, even after a national recount confirmed the People’s Progressive Party/Civic electoral victory, the Coalition continued with its delaying tactics by moving to the courts. It took mounting international and local pressure for the new government to be finally sworn into office on August 2, 2020.
