Dear Editor,
First of all let me congratulate Mr Raphael Trotman, the new leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), and the new faces in the National Executive Committee Mr Moses Nagamootoo, Sherod Duncan and Imran Khan, as well as the new Youth Leader Miss Cynthia Rutherford. The election was hotly contested for the posts of Leader and Youth Leader with a near miss of 2 votes for Mr Khemraj Ramjattan.
The AFC has made a wise decision in appointing Moses Nagamootoo as the Elder Statesman/Political Advisor, a newly created position within the party. This move will help to strengthen the party base since Mr Nagamootoo has a wealth of experience in politics. He can be considered one of the longest serving members of parliament and a seasoned politician. He is a stalwart who championed the cause of the poor and downtrodden. He is well known both locally and internationally.
All the AFC ministers after assuming office performed well, outshining some of the APNU ministers who had poor performances. The Cummingsburg Accord to my mind had some flaws, which gave greater power to APNU; this must be corrected before the 2020 regional and general elections. Going back to the recent AFC election, I have noticed that all the top positions went to members in Georgetown; I was hoping that these positions would have been spread out over the ten regions to give broader representation of the people. However, self-destructive confrontation must be resisted at all costs. This could lead to a no-win situation.
We should respect the will of the voters’ choice, and we must continue to firmly condemn the fostering of division in our camp that would further undermine the cohesion of our party. The AFC must continue to reach out to broaden its membership and to forge new strategic partnerships and alliances. It must work on agenda items, on issues, on solving problems and initiating dialogue at all levels with its members and supporters. It is clear by now that the AFC is the best party which represents the working class. Finally, we cannot be complacent or else the freedom trail that we blazed could be turned into a waste land, and the democracy which we re-claimed in 2011, could be lost.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
