Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), President David Granger said his Administration is committed to the Cummingsburg Accord – the sweetheart deal it signed with the Alliance For Change (AFC) back in 2015 to form a coalition which got them into office.
He was at the time addressing a packed gathering at the opening of the party’s 20th Biennial Delegates Congress on Friday at Congress Place, Sophia, Greater Georgetown. This year’s congress is being held under the theme: “Better together
PNCR leader, President David Granger
for a brighter tomorrow”.
According to the PNCR Leader, the party has done more and gotten farther than any other party to create an inclusionary democracy by firstly establishing the five-party A Partnership for National Unit (APNU), which then in turn entered into a coalition with the AFC.
Granger noted that the PNCR will continue to work with its political and civil partners in to uphold the Cummingsburg Accord and also to have constructive dialogue with the political parliamentary Opposition and with civil society to strengthen the practice of “inclusionary democracy.”
He further asserted his party’s commitment to the ideals of coalition politics and to the broader aspiration of national unity as well as to perfecting the country’s incipient system of shared governance in the belief that the coalition parties are better together than apart.
“Our commitment to the practice of an inclusionary democracy has been vindicated, confirming the efficacy and necessity of the unique coalition that we created and which the electorate accepted,” he posited.
The President’s remarks come on the heels of the AFC announcing nearly two weeks ago that it will be contesting the upcoming Local Government Elections
A section of the gathering at the opening of the congress
(LGE) in November separate from the APNU. The minority party in the coalition Government has been on the receiving end of heavy criticisms for the submissive role it has been playing since joining forces with the APNU. In fact, the top leadership of the AFC had decided back mid-November to revise the governing agreement with its majority coalition partner.
Moreover, regarding the APNU – which is comprised of the PNCR, Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Justice For All Party (JFAP), Guyana Action Party (GAP) and the National Front Alliance (NFA) – the WPA over the past year has been complaining bitterly about being sidelined. In fact, the party executives had even hinted that consideration is being given as to whether the WPA should remain within the APNU alliance given the treatment it is being dealt with.
However, President Granger during his address to the congress pointed out that as a coalition, they were able to achieve much in the past three years, bringing unquestionable benefits to the Guyanese people in every field.
“It has allowed for the deployment of broad expertise to the task of nation-building. It has reignited hope and galvanised goodwill to confront the challenges which we inherited in 2015. The coalition governs for the common good,” he stated.
The PNCR Leader said the coalition Government responded to a deluge of demands from the ordinary people, who needed change and wanted to see immediate improvements in their lives.
“The PNCR, in Government, has been a force of good in improving people’s quality of life… The PNCR has performed well. It is the natural, national leader. It is the party of and for the future,” he posited, while adding that the coalition’s achievements has brought about measurable and substantive change.
Following in the same trend, PNCR Chairman Basil Williams, in his remarks draw from the theme of this year’s congress, telling party members that having grown after experiencing its fair share of triumphs and trails, the PNCR is in the best position to take Guyana to higher heights but this can only be achieved if everyone
Members of the diplomatic community among those at the opening ceremony
work together.
To this end, he spoke of the need to return to the grass root level to further strength the party.
Moreover, Williams, who is also the Legal Affairs Minister as well as the Attorney General, managed to push in some last-minute campaigning before Sunday’s voting which will see him going up against two other party Executives – Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Public Health Minister Volda Lawerence – for the chairmanship position.
The incumbent Chairman told party members that in order to ensure that the PNCR-dominated coalition remains in Government to “care and control” the proceeds from the abundant oil and gas resources, then they should elect their “most tested, tried and proven” comrade so that the party gain the confidence of the electorate to win the 2020 elections.
