Dear Editor,
Now that the PNC have had a chance to declare their results from their Congress, the confirmed results were astonishing. Astonishing for the fact that the PNC, although they are in Government, they have done very little political work to expand their political base.
Being in Government should have caused an influx of youths, women and non-traditional supporters (East Indians and Amerindians) into their Central Executive Committee (CEC), because a governing party is expected to have more support compared to when it was an opposition party.
But when one looks at the new members of the CEC, this is the same old set of senior citizens, with a major invasion of the military kind. The table below highlights the changes in the PNC leadership from the 2016 Congress to the 2018 Congress.
The evidence clearly reveals that the PNC, now fronting themselves as the APNU, are like a political party on another planet. In this day and age, when the millennials are the dominant force in all 10 Regions, you would have expected an expansion in the youthful members on the CEC, but the reverse has happened.
I personally would like to celebrate the elevation of Volda Lawrence as the first female Chairman of the PNC, but when you drill down, you find that the devil is in the details, and the details speak to a different reality. In 2016, there were 10 women and 5 youths in that 20-member leadership body. Today, the women’s group and the youth group have lost 2 places each. What is even more shocking is that the leadership of the party seems to be getting older and older, as the number of geriatrics in the leadership increased from 10 to 12 between 2016 and 2018.
Can you imagine 8 percent of Guyana is classified as geriatrics but 80 percent of the PNC leadership are geriatrics? With no disrespect to my elders, clearly the mix in the PNC does not represent Guyana.
When I look at the PPP LGE candidates, I am overwhelmed with how young, ethnically diverse, and gender-balanced the distribution is. When you look at the PNC candidates, you see dominating the scene people like Patricia Chase Green, an “has been”, washed-out politician who has many allegations of corruption against her, and is right now under investigation.
Is Dr Norton the best Amerindian candidate? Someone with so many questions around his competence as a Minister and with serious allegation of financial foolishness against his character has no place in the leadership of any political party, much less a governing one. Unfortunately, it is my considered view, the PNC made a major mistake by pushing Dr. Norton in light of the formation of an Amerindian party soon.
When it comes to the Indo-Guyanese leaders, well there is nothing to say. The PNC continue to certify themselves as a black party with little space for them in their leadership, notwithstanding the fact that 39 percent of the population is from that group. What is clear is that the powerful in the PNC have declared their intent: to hell with social cohesion and national unity in the PNC; it will not happen.
Who lost their seats? James Bond, who campaigned hard for Volda Lawrence, lost his seat; which translates to the fact that his support was irrelevant to her victory. Then there is the political shocker – Basil Williams. He will have to be co-opted, as the most senior lawyer in the PNC. Joe Harmon has been knocking at the door, but it is clear the PNC members do not trust him.
These results clearly establish that the members do not think Basil Williams or Joe Harmon can be the next leader of the party. However, if we understand the PNC well, what the membership wants is not what they will get, because the cabal that controls Congress Place may very well impose a leader on their members to circumvent the members’ choice – Volda Lawrence.
That said, we all, as Guyanese, must celebrate the fact that Volda Lawrence created history by becoming the first female PNC Chairman. It is a good thing for Guyana that she won. Her victory created a unique challenge for the PPP. My only advice to Ms Lawrence is: beware of the political charlatans, like James Bond who is feeding off of your work; and the geriatric ex-Generals, who are only there to do two things – undermine your work and advance their own cause.
Regards,
Alex Duncan
