Not afraid of leadership challenge – claims Granger on PNC congress

…blames COVID for delay

As much debate arises about the People’s National Congress (PNC) bi-annual congress, party leader and former President David Granger has said that the congress is only being delayed because the party is determining how to hold it without exposing its members to COVID-19 or breaching the stipulated guidelines.
Granger said this during a public interest show, in his first publicly broadcasted interview since losing the presidency in 2020. According to him, he is not afraid of being challenged at a congress but rather, discussions are ongoing and a report was done on the safest way to hold it.

“It (congress) is required in the Constitution, but we explained that because of COVID you cannot bring a thousand people into a super spreader event in congress.”
“We explained and we have done a study to see how we can have a form of congress given the present situation and that report has been presented to the Central Executive Committee. For sure we cannot have a face-to-face congress in the middle of a pandemic.”
Granger noted that a committee headed by PNC Chairperson Volda Lawrence is reviewing the issue and depending on what it decides, the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the party will decide. Otherwise, the former President claimed to be unbothered by the criticism over the delay in holding the congress.
“Congress is not an issue which cannot be determined but as I said it is a matter of that is not before the Central Executive Committee as far as my leadership is concerned. I’m constitutionally elected and I can only be removed in accordance with the Constitution.”

“So, I know there is noise out there but I’m not worried about that. I faced noise before, I faced rivals before and all the competitors but in the final analysis, the members of the PNC know me and they know that I have moved the performance of the PNC from what it was before in the 2000s,” Granger said.
Granger, who left office in August of last year after a five-month-long election process, also defended his supposed lack of visibility. According to Granger, he has actually been out and about and interacting with the party’s grassroots.
However, the party leader has been facing pressure from within the party over the loss of the 2020 General and Regional Elections after just one term in office. These divisions were exacerbated by the list of parliamentarians he picked to send to the 12th Parliament, after party stalwarts like Lawrence were excluded and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) was not consulted to name their candidate.
Only recently, Congress Place was picketed by members of Granger’s own party who demanded that he hold the congress so that the party could choose a leader. One placard, aimed at Granger and Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon, had read “David and Joe, stop denying democracy in the PNC. Time for congress”.
PNC’s last biennial congress was in 2018, where Granger was returned unopposed as leader of the party. At that elections, then Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence was elected Chairperson of the PNC. It is widely believed she could be a contender for leader this year.
Lawrence had competed against former Chairman Basil Williams, and now Opposition Leader Harmon, securing the Chairmanship with 346 votes, while Harmon and Williams secured 287 and 183 votes respectively.
At that congress, Dr Richard Van West-Charles, Dr Karen Cummings, now Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones, Aubrey Norton, Winston Felix, Amna Ally, Mortimer Mingo, Clement Corlette, Cheryl Sampson, Thandi Mc Allister, Gary Best, Genevieve Allen, Jennifer Ferreira-Dougal, Edward Collins, and Basil Blackman were elected to the 15-member CEC.