PNCR stalwart exposes mistreatment of women at Congress Place in resignation letter

Longstanding stalwart of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R), Amna Ally, has resigned and in the process called on party leader Aubrey Norton and those around him, to step down from their roles for the party’s future.

Ally, a former General Secretary of the PNC/R and former Minister of Social Cohesion under the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition Government, expressed her dissatisfaction with the party’s current leadership in her resignation letter. She highlighted several concerns, including the treatment of women within the party. Among them was Vanessa Kissoon, who resigned from the PNC/R just days ago. According to Ally, Kissoon, along with Linden Mayor Sharma Solomon and party elder Cheryl Sampson, faced verbal abuse at Congress Place during the National Congress of Women (NCW).
“The continuous disregard for women who are the backbone of this great party has been overwhelming. As I am reminded of the “curse out” and shameful act meted out to prominent woman of Linden, Miss Vanessa Kissoon a former Member of Parliament, the Mayor of Linden Mr Sharma Solomon, and prominent elder of the PNC, Miss Cheryl Sampson in the presence of the Party General Secretary on the premises of Congress Place and amid an organised forum of the National Congress of Women,” Ally wrote in her letter.
According to Ally, all of this was done without rebuke from the leadership of the party. She further noted that many senior females in the party have expressed disgust at how far the PNC/R has sunk under Norton and went on to call for him and his supporters in the party executive, to resign and “save the party”.
“It hurts, but I cannot continue to support such a party under the current leadership Aubrey Compton Norton and his entire Executive. They should hang their heads in shame and resign. Finally, I wish to reiterate I cannot support a party which disrespect the role played by women who have always been the backbone of the PNC/R, and call upon Aubrey Norton and the clique that surround him in the central executive to resign and save the party,” Ally explained.
“However, since that group now operate as if they own the party founded and excellently led by Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, I have no hesitation, among deep hurt and regret, to tender my resignation and to call on all right-thinking women in the Party to stand up to this new tyrant. Leadership must be given by Leaders not rascals, bullies, embezzlers and indiscipline persons.”

Internally
Efforts by this publication to contact Norton were futile but when contacted PNC/R Chairman Shurwayne Holder insisted that the resignation was being handled within the party.
“There are internal matters in the party. Her resignation is of such. An internal matter for the party. We will deal with that internally. We don’t want to go making public statements based on a resignation,” Holder said.
It is not the first time Ally has publicly spoken out against Norton’s leadership. Last year during the party’s internal elections she said that Norton was not suited for leadership. She had accused Norton of being an undemocratic leader, who undermines the party structure and weakens the party’s Central Executive Committee.
Only a few days ago, it was announced that Vanessa Kissoon, a longtime member of the PNC/R and councillor on the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LM&TC), had also resigned from the party. Her resignation came months after she leveled allegations of sexual harassment against Norton.
Reports of Kissoon’s allegations were first made public on social media by a PNCR supporter last year. According to Kissoon’s account, the incident occurred during an occasion when she was travelling in Norton’s vehicle.
She claimed that she was threatened and showed his firearm. In response, Norton had denied the allegations and said that he had never travelled alone with Kissoon. The party had subsequently said that the allegations would be probed by a ‘Council of Elders’ within the party.
On Friday last, however, General Secretary of the PNC/R, Sherwyn Benjamin bafflingly claimed that he had no knowledge of what came out of the investigation by the party women, elders and youth arms into allegations.