A longtime member of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Gobin Harbhajan has resigned from the party because he says it has strayed from its core values.
In a letter to AFC General Secretary, Harbhajan, who served as a Regional Councilor from 2015-2020 as well as Regional Representative of the Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, stated that he was grateful for the opportunity he had been given to serve but was resigning with immediate effect.
“I am of the view that the party was formed to serve the need of our people and in my opinion those things which were once valued by the members of the party no longer exist,” he wrote.
Harbhajan’s resignation came just hours after the AFC leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, promised to be more responsive to his party’s “base”.
“Our base, comprising of our membership and supportership, in all the Regions must be informed of all decisions taken by our Executive and scrutinise them as thoroughly as is possible. Their suggestions must always be treated with respect and given the highest consideration. The structures on the ground namely members, groups, and regions must soonest come out of the disappointment of a loss of an elections and put out the works that will get us back in to continue the progress we started with our partner APNU,” he told a press conference yesterday morning.
His promise appears to be a direct response to grievances espoused by Harbhajan who told Stabroek News that the party had not been keeping its promises or responding to its base.
“My idea for joining was to make a difference for Berbice but things changed after 2015…We kept marketing that we are for the people but I don’t believe we as a party showed this after 2015,” he said adding “over the years I have been at loggerheads with the executive. There is a power struggle at the top. The top bracket only looks out for themselves. The AFC will not get newcomers.”
He explained that as the executives fought for power at the top they ignored the advice of those who formed the base.
“I tried to share my views on what happening and what led to the poor showing at the [2018 Local government] elections,” he said before lamenting that the party conference which saw Ramjattan elected leader was the death knell for his membership.
“What I witnessed firsthand and how politics runs – it was strange to me. I decided to leave,” Harbhajan shared.
