Dear Editor,
One positive of our (PNCR) General Council was our decision to deal with party matters within the Party. Unfortunately, a junior staff of the Party, Ms. Malika Ramsey, penned a letter and mentioned the internal discussions which took place at General Council and therefore makes it necessary that I respond and put the facts in the public domain.
I read with some amusement that implausible letter which appeared in your newspaper of March 6th, 2012 under the caption `Demerara Waves report on PNCR General Council meeting inaccurate’.
Let me deal with paragraph four which concerns my involvement in the General Council meeting on March 3rd, 2012. I am sure others will deal with the other inaccurate and laughable sections.
In paragraph 4 of the letter under reference it states “Aubrey Norton was at no time during that council allowed to confront the party leader. Allegations were raised by Mr. Norton and those were put to rest by Mr. Corbin.” This is a mischievous misrepresentation of what took place.
I reported to the General Council that a senior executive member of the PNCR had forged a document in respect of the elections held at the District level more than a year ago, and that I had reported this matter to the General Secretary of the party, citing the clause of the Party constitution that was breached, along with the relevant documentation, and was promised by way of a letter that the matter would engage the attention of the party disciplinary committee. To date no action has been taken on this matter. I called on General Council to ensure this matter is dealt with so that in our Party we apply the rule of law. At no time did Mr. Corbin provide an answer to this serious allegation. He studiously avoided the issue and therefore it is ridiculous for Ms. Ramsey to state that he put the allegations to rest.
As a senior member of the PNCR I am disturbed that even as we seek to change and further democratize the party, some in the leadership are quite willing to discountenance allegations which have a negative impact on the party’s image and which undermine the confidence of the public and the membership in the probity of the leadership and the party’s organs.
In addition, I raised concern as it relates to the appointment of a person to a position that has been abolished by the Party and is therefore unconstitutional. Mr. Corbin attempted a response but clearly recognised that the decision was not sanctioned by the Party’s Constitution. Mr. Corbin then stated that the Constitution was amended in 2004. To this contention I said that it was not true. I reminded the General Council that I was at all Party Congresses since the early 1970’s. Mr. Corbin then said that the General Secretary will provide the General Council with the Resolution that amended the party’s constitution. We are still awaiting that Resolution. Surely this state of affairs could not have put the matter to rest.
In concluding, I hope that more experienced and capable people will deal with these matters so that they can bring intellect and political panache to bear in dealing with the media and not provide the public with Party internal discussions inadvertently.
Yours faithfully,
Aubrey C. Norton
