President David Granger today declared that coalition politics is important for the development of Guyana.
He was speaking at the launching of the Kitty headquarters of the Alliance for Change (AFC) which together with Granger’s APNU comprise the current coalition government.
According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, Granger said that the commissioning of the AFC Headquarters is a step in concretising the structure and work of the party but that it is not just the AFC that is here to stay but “Coalition politics, cooperation politics, collaboration politics are also here to stay.”
Pointing out that February 14 will mark one year since the signing of the Cummingsburg Accord which created the alliance between the AFC and APNU, Granger said that that transformative event ushered in a new day for Guyana.
“I do believe that the establishment of this Coalition, of which the AFC is a critical part, is a step towards creating that national unity… Guyana is the most bountiful, the most beautiful country in the Caribbean and our failure to develop our resources, to make our people happier, has largely been a failure of national unity,” he said.
The President stated that even as Guyana gets ready to celebrate 50 years of Independence, the nation has lagged behind other countries in the region, which have fewer resources. He said that this is because they have been able to develop a sense of internal cohesion, a sense of solidarity and a sense of nationhood.
Co-Founder of the AFC and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan reminisced about the signing of the Cummingsburg Accord at the house of President Granger, who was Opposition Leader at the time, and said that in time all the promises in the Coalition’s Manifesto will be delivered.
“We have made mistakes that we must be held accountable for it but it has been wonderful; this journey… Since we have formed this movement, we have said we want national unity; we want justice; we want equality; we want to make Guyana number one in the Caribbean and we will make it through this Coalition politics, through the partnership that we have with the APNU,” he said.
The AFC Headquarters has been named the Centre for Change and is located at 26 Railway Line, Kitty. The facility’s conference room has been named for the late Co-Founder of the party, Sheila Holder, who was remembered in tribute by Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes.
