Dear Editor,
This is an appeal to all the PNC executives, members, and supporters to demand the resignation of the leadership of the PNCR immediately. We have worked tirelessly to help get the leader of the PNCR elected the President of Guyana. It is true that during its five years in office (2015-2020), the APNU+AFC did some good things for the people and the country, but it was not good enough to prevent the PPP from winning the elections in 2020. The leaders of the coalition government have failed to connect with their supporters, and they also had absolutely refused to relate to them. Therefore, they must do the honorable thing and leave immediately and allow the party to flourish under new, young, and dynamic leadership like Mr. Sharma Solomon. Whether or not they choose to resign, one thing is for sure, they cannot remain as leaders of the PNCR. It will be a colossal mistake for us the members of the PNCR groups in the Diaspora and the executive members of the PNCR to allow them to remain at the helm of the party. This will no doubt do irreparable damage to the party to the extent that it will not survive as a viable and robust alternative to the heavy-handed and oppressive PPP. It is time for present leadership to pass the baton on to the younger leadership of the likes of Sharma Solomon, Vanessa Kissoon, Thandi McCallister and others.
As members of the PNCR groups in the New York diaspora, we have all felt betrayed by a wobbly and inept leadership. Once the coalition was in office, we felt that the leaders isolated themselves permanently from members of the party in Guyana and the party supporters and members in the Diaspora. It was impossible for us in the Diaspora to communicate with the leaders much less to offer those help or advice. We strongly believe that their aloof and elitist posture was responsible for the defeat of the party at the polls. Instead of accepting responsibility for the defeat they have accused the PPP of rigging the elections which is a big lie, similar to the one told by Trump in the U.S., who was defeated by President Joe Biden. The truth is, the leaders of the PNCR are in denial. They did not follow through on many of the party’s development initiatives outlined in its manifesto to bring about change, reduce unemployment and improved the lives of the masses. For five years, they have presided over a non-responsive and introverted administration that did not care about the people and their supporters. In fact, we the members of the PNCR Diaspora groups must admit our failure for not speaking out or intervene before the March 2, 2020 elections, especially when we realized that mistakes from the coalition were growing and multiplying. And the leaders of the PNCR did not seek any advice either, instead, they retreated and isolated themselves from the public. We were wrong not to speak up prior to the election, but unlike our leaders, we accept full responsibility for our mistakes.
The fact that the leaders of the governing coalition had arrogantly ignored or deliberately did not seek advice shows that they did not care about the viability and longevity of the PNCR but only about themselves. Their actions spoke louder than words and we believe that it was the largest con game ever portrayed by them on the people of Guyana. The fact that we have worked assiduously to get them elected to office in 2015 were totally ignored. We are of the firm opinion that the APNU+AFC administration had a better philosophical approach to Guyana’s development than that of the PPPC. The APNU +AFC was more even handed and tolerant and did not exhibit biases and racism against anyone as is presently the case with the PPP. That said, we were completely disappointed at the dreadful leadership. Having failed to deliver a decisive victory in 2020 after being only five years in office compared to 23 years of PPP rule, the time has come for all of us in Guyana and in diaspora to do some soul searching as to what went wrong and the circumstances surrounding lackluster and ineffective leadership of the party. As reported in the media, the PNCR is now divided into factions and the reality is 2025 is just around the corner which means that a divided PNCR cannot defeat the PPP. It is time for the leaders and their self-appointed surrogates to step aside for a more progressive and young leadership. We in the Diaspora have called for the party’s congress to be held this year and that a younger group of leaders be elected to lead the party.
Sincerely,
Connie McGuire,
Michael Bramford,
George E, Lewis and the PNCR
Diaspora Groups.
