Dear Editor,
In the last week or two, PNCR parliamentarians Amna Ally, Volda Lawrence, Carol Joseph and Vanessa Kissoon wrote letters to the media in response to letters that criticized Mr. Robert Corbin for his selection of a very poor team of parliamentarians. The most basic examination of these letters reveals that they are lacking intellectual inputs. If this is the best Mr Corbin has to offer then I am forced to concur with the letter writers that the team of parliamentarians is weak.
This raises another issue. Mr Robert Corbin is under attack in the media but all of the persons we see coming to his defence are a set of political lightweights. Where are the heavyweights like Deryck Bernard, Basil Williams, Vincent and Lorri Alexander, Norton, Mc Allister, Winston Murray, and Dr Joseph? Their silence sends a powerful and loud message. Respected leaders in the PNCR apparently do not view it as politically expedient to rush to Mr. Corbin defence.
From the limited information available to me it appears that Mr Corbin is dependent on a few persons for his support. It is apparent that these people are either new to the political arena like Kissoon and Joseph and therefore must be grateful to Mr Corbin for giving them the break or have no reason to be concerned about their public image like Lawrence and Ally.
I believe that the big hullabaloo by the likes of Ally, Lawrence, Joseph and Kissoon is merely a passing storm in a teacup. The writing is on the wall for Robert Corbin. There is no way the PNCR can run with Robert Corbin in the future if it wants to be viable. Of course if the PNCR wants to be a mere pressure group like the Consumers Association it can keep Corbin despite public sentiments about him.
I would like these writers to tell me who they would support to be the next leader of the PNCR. Some people have already suggested Aubrey Norton and Basil Williams while one person has described Vincent Alexander as the leader in waiting. I would like to add Deryck Bernard, Deborah Backer, Stanley Ming, Winston Murray and Lorri Alexander as some of the persons who can be considered. The party must also be prepared to look outside of its current leadership for a possible leader. Persons like Dr Richard Van West Charles, Dr David Pollard, Carl Greenidge, David Granger and Eric Phillips must also be considered. This long list suggests that no one person jumps out and therefore the search must start now but I must say that all of these persons will do a better job than Robert Corbin.
I would like to advise the two young people, Carol Joseph and Vanessa Kissoon, to tie their fates to the future of the PNCR not to its past.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Forde
