In what was described as a historic occasion, the Alliance for Change (AFC) on Saturday formally opened its headquarters at Railway Line, Kitty, naming it the Centre for Change in memory of one of its founders, Sheila Holder who died in 2011.
Over the years, the party has been moving from building to building having no place to really call its home. With financial help from supporters both locally and in the diaspora it was able to occupy the Kitty location which has been renovated to accommodate the party’s operations.
The programe was largely filled with speeches from the top brass of the party but time was set aside for a tribute to be paid to Holder. Holder played a significant role in the creation of the AFC along with Khemraj Ramjattan and Raphael Trotman.
Holder died at the age of 65 after a period of illness which caused her to withdraw from running in the 2011 general elections as the party’s prime ministerial candidate.
In addition to a pictorial display, party member Cathy Hughes spoke of the work Holder had put in and the sacrifices that she had made to ensure that the AFC had the foundation for it to evolve into what it is today.
Speaking on Holder’s life, she said that she contested national elections in 1997 in an alliance of Labour, citizens and the Working People’s Alliance and was sworn in as an elected member of the country’s 8th parliament on May 4, 2001.
Hughes, said that in the last six years of her life, Holder “founded and nurtured her baby- the Alliance for Change with her two good friends (Trotman and Ramjattan).
She recalled how in the early days Holder struggled to be a politician in Guyana and how hard it was for her husband, Noel Holder, the current Minister of Agriculture.
“Sheila was a fierce fighter for equality, justice and the promotion of what was right, honest and decent. She worked tirelessly, spreading the message of change and the dream of a new day in Guyana”, Hughes said before adding that Holder was convinced that a new Guyana would soon emerge.
She spoke of Holder’s friendly personality, her activism in women’s issues and her political passion
“She set the bar high and we must continue to follow her example “, Hughes stressed adding that the AFC would not be here without the tireless efforts of Holder.
President David Granger in brief comments express-ed the view that the opening of the party’s headquarters is a step forward in concretising the structure and work of the AFC.
His comment that coalition politics was here to stay was met with loud applause.
The indigenous peoples from St. Cuthbert’s Mis-sion also blessed the building.
Among those present were Trotman; Holder’s husband Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder; Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo; other senior members of the AFC; Minister within the Minis-try of Natural Resources Simona Broomes and Minister within the Minis-try of Social Protection Keith Scott.
