Contending that Guyana is experiencing a new political situation for which there are no blueprints, outgoing leader of the PNCR Robert Corbin yesterday stressed the need for strengthening the party if it is to foster change in governance and ultimately change in government.
He was speaking at the launching of the party’s 17th Biennial Congress, which is being held under the theme ‘A united PNCR; securing our future through a government of national unity.’ The election of officer bearers will take place tomorrow afternoon, with frontrunners David Granger and Carl Greenidge a distance ahead in the race to be leader of the party.
Speaking at Congress Place, Corbin began by paying tribute to the slain in Linden and saluting the residents of the mining community who braved the odds and came to Georgetown for the Congress. “As a consequence of your sacrifice we can truly say that this 17th Biennial Congress has representation from all Guyana,” he said.
“We are also paying homage to our later fallen comrades who have shed their blood for our struggle…. Let us at this Congress pledge to redouble our efforts to advance our cause so that their sacrifice would not be in vain,” he said.
Corbin noted that the timing of the Congress is significant, coming seven months after the 2011 general elections that saw the opposition for the first time in the history of Guyana having a majority in the National Assembly.
“The Congress is also being held at a time when our stronghold of Linden is under siege by the PPP but the resilient people of Linden have fired back to remind President Donald Ramotar and the PPP/C that they believe in the Constitution and will make a reality of Article 9 which states ‘Sovereignty belongs to the people who exercise it through their representatives and democratic organs established by and under this Constitution,” he said.
He noted that the Congress will provide an opportunity to evaluate the party’s performance over the last two years, to review the 2011 general elections results and aftermath, to develop, refine, review and approve policies plans and strategies of the party for the next biennium, to examine the performance of the Government and to elect those “in whom we have confidence to lead us into the new biennium.”
Linden
Corbin commenced his speech proper by addressing Linden and what he called marginalisation of and discrimination against the community since 1992. “I do not make these statements lightly, but speak from a position of knowledge of all the facts and circumstances. One would have thought that the PPP and its new President, after the results of the last elections, would have recognised the issues of Linden ought to be removed from political games and elevated to the status of serious national issues,” he said.
He added that it is important for the Congress to understand that the current impasse at Linden had its genesis in fundamental issues which arose several years ago and that the draconian increase in electricity tariffs without consultation with the people was only the tipping point. “The resolution, therefore, lies in a holistic approach and not a band aid solution,” Corbin said.
Corbin said that stung by the defeat of the last elections, the PPP went on a campaign of harassment, discrimination and undue punishment of the people of Linden. He said that the government responded to crises in other parts of the country in a more prompt manner than is seen in Linden.
He argued that the electricity tariff in Linden is not a privilege to its citizens but a legitimate right earned by their forbears who struggled against the odds in difficult circumstances to build and develop the bauxite industry for more than a century. “The deprivations that they were forced to suffer and the health hazards they were forced to endure such as toxic dust nuisance were not borne by Guyanese elsewhere. The right to reasonable electricity rates was not, therefore, a concession, but a benefit earned after long and difficult negotiations by the bauxite workers and the leaders of that community,” he said.
“What citizens of Guyana should all be demanding is that instead of raising electricity rates of Linden to the levels charged around the country…there should be a phased reduction of electricity rates countrywide so that consumers are not forced to subsidise the inefficiencies of the Guyana Power and Light Company,” he added.
He also said that any attempt by the government to criminalise peaceful protests must be rejected by all Guyanese. “The solution to the Linden crisis lies in creating jobs, the end to discrimination, the involvement of the people in the making of decisions that impact their lives and the end to the vindictiveness that characterise the Ramotar regime’s approach to Linden,” he said.
Corbin also said that the misuse of the Guyana Police Force is not a new phenomenon, arguing that the PPP/C turned a blind eye to the extra-judicial killings and was “in bed with drug lords and facilitated their notorious activities until fully exposed by a relentless campaign of the joint opposition forces and the arrest and later conviction of drug lord Roger Khan. “This Congress puts the PPP on notice that our party will not sit idly by and allow the excesses to continue without proper redress,” he said, while pointing to the party’s call for murder charges against the Commander who gave the order to shoot in Linden.
He also reiterated that interest groups have a say in the identification of the Commissioners for the Commission of Inquiry into the shooting at Linden and that the selection process is not left entirely up to the President.
APNU
According to Corbin, a strong and dynamic PNCR will be essential for a strong and dynamic APNU, which is is essential for the PNCR’s objective of shared governance and a government of national unity to be achieved.
He said that Guyana is experiencing a new political situation and there are no blueprints. “Whatever may be our opinions, it is through this organisation [APNU] that the PNCR must interface with the nation at the parliamentary level and through which our plans for the reform of Government must take place. The symbiotic relationship between the PNCR and APNU should therefore be obvious,” he said.
“The Congress may wish to deliberate on this matter over the next two days, but anyone who is knowledgeable of the history of our party or who has been involved in shaping its destiny should not be surprised or confused by the establishment of APNU. It is the logical development of our party’s historical mission to continually form alliances for the achievement of our objectives,” Corbin said.
During breaks in the official proceedings, calypsonian Lord Canary performed the theme song for the Congress while junior calypsonian Dianna Chapman performed her crowd favourite ‘Nancy Story’. Vocal group ‘Circle of Love’ performed a number of national songs in a capella.
Member of the PNCR, 98 year old Cecil Cunha was honoured during the beginning of the Congress for his longstanding membership in the party and to thank the crowd for their appreciation he played on his harmonica the hauntingly beautiful song ‘Edelweiss’ from the film classic ‘The Sound of Music’ to a cheering audience.
There was also dancing and tassa drumming combined with African drumming much to the delight of the Congress delegates and other attendees.
