Dear Editor,
In a few weeks our Party, the Peoples National Congress-Reform, will hold its 22nd Biennial Delegates Congress. The PNCR’s Biennial Congress is the highest decision-making forum of our Party. Six decades ago, our party made a contract with the people of Guyana when we embarked on the task of transforming a deeply divided colony into the independent state of Guyana. Today, as we approach this very important Congress, our Party remains committed to that contract and building a strong prosperous and united nation state where every Guyanese regardless of political affiliation, can enjoy a good life. The PNCR, unlike the ruling Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), has always elected its leaders through a democratic process, where any Party member can contest for any position, once nominated. Yes, the competition is fierce and sometimes can be strident; but it has always reflected the will of the members and not the dictates of a few.
This Congress finds our party in Opposition. We, therefore, have much work to do if we are to retake the reins of government in 2025. Defeating the incumbent will not be an easy task; it will take a strong, well prepared and united PNCR, working assiduously with our coalition partners to achieve that goal. To achieve this, we need a change of leadership. We need a leader who can unite and not divide. We need a leader who is not tainted by the skirmishes and internal Party insurgencies of the past. We need new blood! For the task ahead, we must elect someone who can pull all the various factions together; someone who can build bridges and extend a hand to those who currently have clench-ed fists. We need someone who can build a more inclusive culture in the PNCR, where diverse perspectives are respected and members feel valued, seen and heard. So, as we enter the 2025 general and regional elections season, we must do so led by someone with an inclusive vision for our Party and our country.
It is for this reason that I am endorsing Amanza Walton -Desir for Leader of the PNCR. Like many others, I have admired her meteoric accession on the public stage and carefully observed and admired her compassion and ability to connect and communicate effortlessly at all levels of society. I have followed her career, as a fierce legislator in the National Assembly, championing the cause of the under-privileged and un-heard and tirelessly attempting to keep an uncaring government focused on the imminent threat we face from our neighbour to the west; sounding the alarm on the silent invasion of Venezuelan migrants; highlighting the unequal treatment meted out to our Haitian brothers and sisters by this uncaring regime; using her talents and skills to build bridges with our allies and friends. There are those who say yes, she is good, she is talented, she is qualified, I like her, but she must wait her turn. To them I ask: if not now, when?
Our people cannot afford another five years under the uncaring rule of the present PPP regime. Guyana is currently listed by the World Bank as a high-income country, yet our people go to bed hungry, our teachers and public servants are paid starvation wages; high inflation and crime are the order of the day. Our brothers and sisters are bulldozed and flooded from their homes; arrested by a police force that has been weaponized against political opponents and unjustly prosecuted by this uncaring government. Yet some think that we must wait. It is time for us to put the best team on the field; a team that can win; a team that can unite all our members, supporters and this nation. We (the PNCR and the Coalition – APNU+AFC) must therefore ask ourselves – come 2025 are we going to be in it or, are we going to be in it to win it? I submit that Amanza Walton-Desir gives us the best chance to win it!
Sincerely,
Mark Archer
