Dear Editor,
The PNCR Congress will be held in a matter of days. A lot of members have not received their membership cards and don’t know why it is taking this long for them to be sent. I saw in the newspapers that General Secretary, Mr Oscar Clarke had said these cards could be produced in a day. Weeks have gone by and many haven’t heard about their cards or received them. The GS also said in the press that people can use their national identification card. Editor, this is wrong. The party has its own card for identifying its membership and party members prefer to have their cards. Some party members told me they do not have ID cards. Some told me they feel the party is making it difficult for some to get their cards so they can be denied entry to Congress or the opportunity to vote.
Members think if the party had stuck to the old membership card instead of this new one where they want your picture on it these cards could have been have been issued already. When people are making inquiries for their cards they are spoken to anyhow by Congress Place staff, and the lady who is the Chief Whip doesn’t know how to speak to people. The GS is barking at you, the Chief Whip is barking at you, the staff are barking at you – it is difficult to get anybody to talk to you. They are behaving as though they are doing us a favour and not as though we all belong to the party and have to work together to make things happen.
Delegates are being appointed for groups and they are not allowing the groups to decide who will be their delegates. When you hear the names of these delegates you know they are Mr Granger’s fans. Some of us who support Mr Granger but would openly speak of our disagreement with some decisions he makes, have been disqualified as delegates by Congress Place. I don’t know what will happen to those who support other contenders. Then the party has this Vanessa Kissoon and Oscar Clarke story and members don’t know if it will settle before congress. Members are unhappy with the way the leadership has treated Ms Kissoon, but some are afraid to publicly say this because they don’t want to offend the party leaders.
The management of the PNC’s day-to-day affairs under Mr Granger is chaotic. Most party members have been civilians all their lives and are not accustomed to this treatment. This doesn’t mean party members and leaders never had arguments. All parties would have had arguments among their members, but zero tolerance for asking questions of the leaders and staff at Congress Place is new. Every family will have quarrels.
Everybody knows the GS has his moods and the Chief Whip has her moods. But now everybody has this mood and members want to know if this mood is the fashion now. A serious faced leader passes you straight and doesn’t say hello; while staff members are always in a sour mood and want you to do as they say without questioning. It is difficult to make head or tail of what is happening at Congress Place. Some members have even decided they prefer to stay away because if they are treated with disrespect they will answer from the Leader right down to the office assistant and security guard who want to treat them like children.
Yours faithfully,
Bert Thompson
