Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira on Friday said while former president David Granger made a political misstep when he refused to attend last week’s lunch meeting with President Irfaan Ali, the administration is still open to engaging him.
“Politicians have to know when there is an opportunity out there and don’t make the mistake of rejecting it. It’s a delicate balance and that is why politics is such a fascinating field. It has to do with judgment calls that you make. I believe in this case Mr. Granger made a very unfortunate judgment call,” Teixeira told reporters on Friday.
Speaking at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre after a public viewing of the ruling of the International Court of Justice on its jurisdiction to adjudicate Guyana’s border controversy with Venezuela, she reiterated that the Ali-led government “has not shut the door on Mr. Granger.”
“I hope he reflects in his quiet time over the holidays and chooses to participate,” she added, while stressing that the former president has no reason to feel intimidated as the only non-PPP/C participant since the engagement was beyond political parties.
On December 4th, 2020, Teixeira, on behalf of Ali, had formally invited Granger to a lunch meeting of former presidents.
One week later, Granger responded to the invitation with a recommendation that the meeting be deferred until several “important issues” are satisfactorily settled. A statement from his party, the PNCR, said Granger “felt that it would be a blunder to ignore the legitimate concerns of a significant section of the population and the aspirations of the majority of our people, especially those enduring the privations of the pandemic.”
He stressed that there is public concern about certain governmental actions – including the high rates of deaths as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; unwarranted dismissals of public servants; harassment of Elections Commission officials and human rights violations. He further highlighted that the letter he received from Gail Teixeira neither explained amply the purpose of the intended meeting nor recommended an agenda for examination. Ali refused to accede to this request and the meeting was held in Granger’s absence.
He later announced that the meetings would be held each quarter and that Granger holds an open invitation.
After last Tuesday’s meeting, he said key areas discussed included border security, Guyana’s sovereignty and electoral and constitutional reform.
Asked on Thursday if he was willing to provide an agenda for future meetings, Ali said “I have no problem communicating to him the thematic areas discussed.”
