Dear Editor,
I was the Secretary of AFC for four years, and the Prime Minister’s Representative in Region Two for five years during the “Coalition Government”. I came to realize that the PNCR was never really interested in power sharing, which they had boasted about, but were more concerned about dominating and dictatorship. What they did, as in the 1960’s, was to use the AFC to collate but only for the purpose of winning the elections. Then, as in the 1960s, the means had justified the end. The PNCR succeeded, and then sidelined the AFC. Every government ministry headed by an AFC minister had a PNCR junior minister as a watchdog to monitor. There was no reciprocity for PNCR ministries.
A meeting to plan the 2020 election campaign was held at State House, Anna Regina in Region Two; the meeting was chaired by Annette Ferguson, then a junior minister and who was not from Region Two. The default Minister of Business, who was a senior minister and an AFC executive member, held no campaign position (he appeared satisfied with this since he is not a boat-rocker and accepts everything); the deputy campaign manager was another PNCR member. At the meeting, I asked the campaign manager several times if there was a co-campaign manager but she evaded this question until we got to know later that there was none. We had expected that the Minister of Business would have been named the co- campaign manager, but the PNCR was having none of that. Except for myself and two AFC Regional Councilors who walked out, all other members of the PNCR and AFC sat there as if cemented.
Editor, during the five years of the Coalition government, I, as AFC Secretary for Region Two, wrote numerous letters, hard copies of which I have, to our AFC leaders about the sidelining of the AFC by the PNCR. I complained, on behalf of our members, about hiring practices (employment opportunities), exclusions from outreaches, heritage celebrations, Tender Board, Regional Standing Committees; harassment by PNCR REO’s. Responses from our AFC leaders came back but were without answers, just acknowledgement or a mere nebulous “All matters have been fully ventilated”.
The PNCR was planning to rig the elections and go back to the dictatorial days of Burnham. When I told a PNCR member that we would be a one-term government due to non –performance, he responded twice that they would rig the elections, not realizing the other nations would not allow that to happen. Editor, the AFC is “Dead Meat”, cannot be resuscitated or resurrected, and cannot help the PNCR to win another elections. The AFC leaders were feathering their nests—with gold bangles, expensive furniture and self-serving contracts—and the PNCR were taking note and waiting to boot them out. I know that they will tarnish me with their sour grape responses, but “The Truth Hurts”. The done deal is that the PPPC will govern Guyana for a long time and will better the lives of all Guyanese.
Sincerely,
Karan Chand
Region Two Resident
