Dear Editor,
The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is encouraged that persons are interested in its choice of leader. Ours is a party that has made significant contributions to Guyana and continues to make them. The party holds congresses and at congress leaders are elected by the members. Messrs Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, Hugh Desmond Hoyte and Robert Corbin, all have been elected. Our party does not subscribe to the leader being appointed or anointed; he or she has to be elected by the members. This is a tradition we are very proud of and we expect it to be respected by all.
The opportunity is taken to respond to Mr Sultan Mohamed’s letter, ‘The choice of PNCR leader is of concern to all Guyanese,’ (SN, June 6). Mr Mohamed fools no one and does a poor job of hiding his insincerity and his agent provocateur role. He cannot determine for the party who should be its leader because he is not a member of the party. His letter is clearly designed to sow seeds of discord among the party members, supporters and society. His intentions are not honourable but mischievous.
I would like to say, however, on the issue of restricted and banned food items, it was a choice the PNC made and something it agonized over before doing so. Food items were not banned or restricted to hurt anyone, and it affected all of us. Items were banned and restricted for economic reasons that came with increased oil prices, the unavailability of foreign exchange and politically instigated strikes that made it hard for Guyana to produce, much less sell its products and receive the much needed foreign exchange to keep the country going. The PNC government may have banned and restricted items but Mr Mohamed is not telling the people that it was the PNC government that brought back those items.
Some positives that came from the restricted and banned items were that while some profited and got rich through contraband trade, it allowed others to produce and eat local healthy foods. You look around today and hear the PPP government and other Caribbean leaders talking about food security and the high regional food bill using up scarce foreign exchange. Under the PNC there were agriculture programmes in the schools, and as schoolchildren planted their school gardens, they learned about agriculture and also learned the benefits of healthy eating. Look at the health benefit of eating a fresh golden apple, mango or guava as against an ‘ice-apple’; fresh butterfish as against canned sardines; fresh vegetables and provisions as against frozen and imported ones, not knowing how long ago this produce was harvested, what chemicals were used to preserve them and the food value loss.
Imagine the benefit of drinking fresh milk as against imported milk and producing our own cheese, fruit juices, preserved fruits, salted fish, beef and pork. Flour was a vexing issue for all and the use of rice flour many rejected which was something the PNC understood.
Minister Robert Persaud’s ‘Grow More Campaign’ was a pick-up from the PNC. The late First Lady Mrs Viola Burnham was a teacher and farmer by profession. Mrs Burnham also planted rice. The United States First Lady, Mrs Michelle Obama, has a garden in the White House and is teaching children about healthy eating habits, which is catching on around the world. Now Guyana sees First Lady Deolatchmie Ramotar planting a garden on State House’s property and having schoolchildren help. I congratulate her effort. The only regret I have was that this same effort when done by the PNC faced stiff condemnation and rejection from the PPP. If some were not so small minded in their politics, imagine what Guyana could have been today!
Yours faithfully,
B. Beniprashad Rayman
Executive Member
PNCR
