Dear Editor,
Having been a longstanding member of the YSM and the PNC, it gives me a sense of pride and satisfaction when another person who has his/her roots in the YSM is elevated to high office. At a minimum you know that person is well grounded politically and is well suited for such elevation. That is the case of Joseph Harmon.
In 2011 and 2015, I had the pleasure of being recruited to manage the elections campaigns in Region #10 and Region #3 respectively. I was therefore afforded the opportunity to work with Mr. Harmon close-up and can confirm that he has political management skills which he brought to the election campaign that eventuated in the success of the APNU + AFC in 2015.
One of his positive qualities is his ability to be inclusive and work with people based on their competence rather than other irrelevant considerations. This ability to avoid the trivial and stay focused on the objectives is responsible for him being involved in inclusive rather than exclusionary politics. This inclusive approach augurs well for him as Chairman of the PNCR and is evident by the way he works with other ethnic communities. Harmon is the only Candidate that manifests this quality, a quality that is needed in this multi-ethnic society and a political party which must do significant work with PNCR non- traditional supporters.
The foregoing is coupled with the correct approach to the youth. Mr. Harmon has committed to the rebuilding of the GYSM, and to work with the youth to obtain the resources necessary for its rebuilding and the empowerment of youth. He has opened candid and fruitful discussions with the GYSM. The said commitment he brings to the women’s arm of the party.
Probably, the most important commitment Minister Harmon has made in his campaign for Chairman of the PNCR, is to implement Party Leader, Mr. David Granger’s idea of an “Education Nation”. To this end, Mr. Harmon has committed to the re-introduction of an education programme in the party that will develop the institutional capabilities of the PNCR.
Coupled with the foregoing, the Candidate for Chairman of the People National Congress Reform (PNCR) recognizes that the Party needs to develop its financial capabilities. Consequently, Mr. Harmon has been working on, and continues to work to place our party on a course of financial sustainability.
I have listened to the views and positions of all three candidates. They have all done a good job. However, I have concluded that there is only one who is grounded in, and is manifesting a clear understanding of the philosophy that underpins the PNCR. He is the best of the three, Joseph Harmon.
Those who attended his meetings were treated to a clear understanding of the history of the party. Mr. Harmon has shown a clear ability to contextualise that history and to extrapolate the relevant themes that are useful and applicable today. No other candidate has even attempted to give that kind of information and guidance to the party membership. In this regard Joseph Harmon towers over the other candidates.
The PNCR will do itself justice if it elects one who is competent, philosophically clear, politically astute, inclusive in approach, has political management skills, an interest in youth, women and the party in general, and the education and financial development of the PNCR. Joseph Harmon is the only candidate that fits the bill. I endorse him for the Chairman of the PNCR.
Yours faithfully,
Aubrey C. Norton