By Antonio Dey
Former PNCR General Secretary, Amna Ally has launched a searing attack on party Leader Aubrey Norton and says she is backing Roysdale Forde SC in the upcoming leadership contest.
Ally, when contacted by Stabroek News yesterday, reaffirmed her statement earlier this week that Norton was unfit to be Leader of the PNCR.
Asked what caused her to make such a statement, the former long-serving PNCR executive said that Norton comes across as a racist and does not understand the importance of accountability and transparency.
“I must tell you for background purposes during my time as General Secretary I told Mr (David) Granger who was the then leader of the opposition that I was not interested in returning to that position, neither was I interested in any executive position because I believed that the young people should be given a chance and he respected my views but since Norton took over that party he has done a lot of things which is not in the best interest of the Party”, Ally declared.
“He dismantled all the party structures in the region and what he started doing was appointing interim management committees in those respective regions, the system where you had all the party representatives in all the various regions, that is no longer in existence”, she lamented.
“He started to inculcate people who are beholden to him, according to the constitution you have to have in every administrative region, regional committees and that is not happening”, the former General Secretary contended.
According to Ally, Norton is non-compliant with the constitution due to his failure to host general council and executive meetings as well as the biennial congress at its stipulated time as enshrin-ed in the constitution.
“There are stipulated time frames where these meetings should be held as well as the congress and Mr Norton does not adhere to this”, she said.
“I am sure you have heard about the former Treasurer Mr Faaiz Mursaline who resigned as a result of being forced to sign blank cheques with no supporting documents. That is what I am talking about, lack of accountability and transparency. Under Mr Granger, (Joseph) Har-mon, (Forbes) Burnham or (Desmond) Hoyte that would have never happened”, she posited.
“When he became Opposition Leader he appointed Miss Geeta Chandan Edmond as General Secretary, but the young lady subsequently resigned, look at the sequence Faaiz was the treasurer and he resigned, I don’t want to assume that it is a matter of racism, but it is glaring at us and that is not the qualities of a good leader”, Ally contended.
In the wake of her statements, allegations of mismanagement during her tenure as General Secre-tary have been levelled against Ally on social media. She vigorously rejected these allegations and said: “I can clearly say that I functioned well. Under Mr David Granger he had no problems with me, but as for Mr Norton why isn’t he not telling the public the truth into why he was dismissed under Desmond Hoyte, which I will not go into”.
The delayed PNCR congress is to be held before August 31st this year and Opposition Member Forde, has thrown his hat into the ring.
At a press conference held on March 28th, Forde formally announced his decision to compete against Norton.
People-oriented
Against this background, Ally said yesterday that she will be throwing her support behind Forde who she believes is a better leader. She said that that Forde is more people-oriented and has great leadership qualities.
“Mr Forde has shown great leadership qualities and not because he is a lawyer, he shows that he can interact with people at the grass-roots level and he has done a lot of things for the party and the people, he did a lot of pro-bono cases for people, so that is why I like him he is people-oriented”, Ally said.
Debunking claims particularly on social media that her statements are in the interest of the ruling People’s Progressive Party, Ally said that she will forever support the PNCR and her association with persons in the government doesn’t mean that she will ever join forces with them. She noted that there is no crime in a PNCR member being friends with government officials.
Ally said that due to the current leadership of her party, she is not working internally but externally and assured that she is an active member.
She said that at the upcoming congress, Forde should be elected leader of the PNCR as it truly needs someone who can promote unity and harmony.
“The party needs a good leader who will respect the constitution and uphold the standards of the party and moreso promote unity and togetherness because currently there is a lot of division”, she said.
Ally is of the staunch view that several members in the PNCR are inciting segregation within the party and with Norton in place “I don’t know how the party would be unified”.
Forde, in a press release on March 28 announcing that he would be running for the leadership position said that in his interactions during his travels across the country, party members and supporters of the coalition are demanding an approach that not only holds the People’s Progressive Party accountable but also an approach that imbues hope in the hearts and minds of Guyanese. Such an approach, he posited, must show “unity, strength, collectivism, integrity and patriotism,” while urging that to build this future, “we must Regroup, Refocus and Rebuild.”
In an interview with this newspaper published in the April 7th edition, Norton posited that he should be both party leader and presidential candidate.
“In 2021, I was elected by the members of the party in a landslide victory and the members felt I was best suited. When I was elected, it was on the promise to engage them across the country… They thought then I was the most experienced and best suited. I can list more but it is on that basis I will be reelected,” Norton said.
“…You are also looking at a possible presidential candidate who has to know national and international politics. I don’t think there is anyone in the party who is more qualified than me to deal with national and international politics.
“I want to remind people that when I became leader, the international community was not engaging us. They would come and not engage the then leadership of the party. We worked assiduously with the international community and they now engage us with many or all issues so there is evidence that the party has improved its stature in the society,” he added.
Listing other achievements, Norton said that he had also made plans to “reestablish the infrastructure” of the party and was making strides in doing so. What isn’t completed now, he promised, will be, should he be elected again.
“Congress Place was left to deteriorate. It is being redone and rebuilt by this current leadership of the party,” he expressed.
Norton said he was not worried about people contesting for the leadership, adding that campaigning has already begun for some.
On Thursday, PNCR Chairman Shurwayne Holder said that party members should remain united and resilient.
Holder was responding at a press conference to a plethora of questions from the state media on Ally’s statements and he criticized the former General Secretary.
“I honestly don’t believe that I had to respond to the mistruths and I would not sit idly by or sit silently and allow what I view as statements that are not truthful or coming from persons who I believe would not have contributed significantly over the last four years towards the development of this party just to bash the leadership and not say anything and I want to make it clear just how Comrade Amna Ally is allowed to give her views, I am allowed to do so as well”, he said.
He told the media at his party’s press conference that the bickering and commentary by party members is just “a little banter”.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the PNCR Chairman said that he does not believe Ally has “the moral authority to say who is unfit to lead the party”.
He is of the staunch view that over the past two years, his party has been doing a lot of groundwork under its current leadership and the mantra must be “defeating” the current regime at the polls and promoting the party’s people-centred approach once elected in 2025.
