-after attacks on party
The AFC has asked Region Six Regional Democratic Council (RDC) member Haseef Yusuf to vacate his seat after a no-confidence motion against him even as he has defiantly dared party leader Khemraj Ramjattan to move him.
“No I will not [resign]… I will not. When Ramjattan was expelled from the PPP did he step down as a Member of Parliament? That is what I want to ask him to his face…let him try to move me,” Yusuf told Stabroek News yesterday when contacted after the AFC announced that its leadership had written him indicating that he was no longer considered a party representative on the RDC.
Yusuf denied receiving any correspondence from the party informing him of its stance on his continued membership on the RDC. However, he maintained that even if he had been informed about the party’s loss of confidence in him, he was determined to remain a serving councillor and would not resign. “I have not gotten any letter… this is the first I’m hearing of this but no, I will not resign,” he said.
Prior to the formation of the AFC, Ramjattan, after being expelled from the membership of the PPP, retained his seat in the National Assembly despite calls by the party for him to vacate it.
In a press release issued yesterday, the AFC stated that its leadership has called on Yusuf to tender his resignation to the RDC, after a motion by five of the AFC’s Councillors expressing No Confidence in him. “The Motion filed on March 14, 2014 noted public attacks by Yusuf to discredit the AFC and his declaration of support for another political party. It is in this context that the AFC Councillors notified the RDC that Yusuf does not speak on their behalf nor represent them in any way. The Councillors called on Yusuf to resign,” it said.
The statement added that the party leadership endorsed the call by the councillors and by way of letter informed Haseef Yusuf that he is no longer considered a representative of the AFC on the RDC. The party said its leadership also informed him that his views and actions were not considered to represent the party, and in light of the fact that he no longer had the confidence of the regional Councillors, the executives and the general membership, he should submit his resignation as a regional councillor with immediate effect. Once submitted, it said, his resignation will be accepted. “The Alliance For Change takes this opportunity to inform the general public that Haseef Yusuf does not represent the AFC on the Regional Democratic Council, Region #6. He is not authorised to transact any business, collect any funds or represent the Party in way. Any public utterances by Haseef Yusuf must be considered as being made on his own behalf,” the party added.
Stabroek News was told by an AFC member that Yusuf had been warned in the past of his actions. “He persistently engages with and his actions are for the governing party (the PPP/C)…this is someone who will tell people there when they come to him with a problem about what government is doing and send them away without notifying us or the other councillors,” the AFC member said.
