In response to attacks by political commentator and WPA activist, David Hinds, the Alliance for Change (AFC) yesterday said that it was “neither opportunistic nor have we lost our political conviction”.
The AFC – the junior partner in the governing APNU+AFC coalition – said it has been and remains fully committed to change and transformation and has striven for a “peaceful revolution that brought down the former corrupt regime on May 11, 2015”. The AFC said that it is still making “strenuous and honest” contributions toward transforming the society.
“David Hinds has elevated himself to the status of a self-proclaimed critic who sits in judgment of others and shelters under the new freedom which our Coalition Government has afforded and guaranteed him and others like him to express themselves even, as we are informed, in the editorial columns of the state-owned newspaper.
“The AFC is of the view that these actually, whether with hindsight or not, are unwarranted, unjustified and without any basis whatsoever. While we agree that there are still some issues in the Coalition that must be addressed, the AFC would do so in a disciplined and principled manner. We insist that our criticism must be constructive and balanced”, the party which holds 12 seats in Parliament said.
Hinds’ WPA is a member of the APNU coalition, the main partner in the governing alliance.
The AFC said it continues to play a pivotal role in Guyana’s politics and has gone down in history on two counts: “the tabling of a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, that was the precursor to political change and, teaming up with the APNU in a broad-based, multi-ethnic, plural, pro-democracy coalition, to give effect to the ouster of what has been the most backward regime in post-independence Guyana, that is the Jagdeo-Ramotar cabal.”
The AFC said it admits that as a fledgling political movement it ought to do more at the grassroots to build itself into a mass-based party, and that it is afflicted by both financial and organizational weaknesses.
“But our resolve to help take this Coalition forward is undiminished”, the statement said.
