@Django posted:

PNCR executive members up pressure on Granger over Congress, `shell’ parties

July 15 ,2021

Source

Members of the PNCR’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) today piled pressure on party leader, former President David Granger over the long-stalled Congress of the party and the admission of two parties which they deemed “shells” to A Partnership for National Unity.

Stabroek News has confirmed with two members of the CEC that the unsigned statement is authentic and represents the views of some of the executives.

The statement issued by the members follows:

DAVID GRANGER WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO TURN THE PNCR INTO A “ONE MAN SHOW”

This statement serves to inform members of PNCR that Mr David Granger and Miss Amna Ally continue to disregard the decisions of the Central Executive Committee, which the Leader and the General Secretary are part of and subjected to, since the CEC is the highest decision forum in the absence of Congress and General Council.

As you may be aware, the PNCR never agreed to accept the recently formed Equal Rights and Justice Party or the Guyana National Builders Movement into the APNU. Members, we know nothing about these parties! They were never launched nationally, and we are unaware of what benefits they bring for the PNCR to even considering accepting them into the Partnership.

Members

Central Executive Committee

PNCR

Eh-eh --

they still do not know that Granger and Harmon are the only decision-makers for the PNCR/APNU.       

Granger is too old. He should be sent off to Jurasick park.  Harmon could become a fire hydrant. Freddy's dog would like that.

"PNCR for national unity, good governance and development"

I think they should change their slogan. They cannot even unite they own coalition.

Fighting within your party makes you look like donkeys.

Major rift in PNC/R Exec over APNU ‘new parties’

Jul 18, 2021 News, Source - https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...er-apnu-new-parties/

– Volda Lawrence confirms support of anti-Granger release

Kaieteur News – A major rift now exists among members of the People’s National Congress Reform’s (PNCR) Central Executive Committee (CEC) following claims that the party’s leader, David Granger, unilaterally inducted two new parties into A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

Elected member of the PNCR’s CEC, Aubrey Norton

This rift came to light after the media recently reported on an unsigned statement by some members of the CEC accusing Granger of turning PNCR into a “one man show”.

The statement was reportedly circulated to party members just moments before a virtual observance of APNU’s 10th anniversary.

It is believed that some of the CEC members decided to make the statement after they saw the new parties’ symbols affixed to the programme of the anniversary observance.

The two new parties are the Equal Rights and Justice Party (ERJP) led by former Minister, Jaipaul Sharma and the Guyana Nation Builders Movement (GNBM) formed by current Member of Parliament, Tabitha J. Sarabo-Halley.

Both Sharma and Sarabo-Halley were members of the Justice for All Party (JFAP) and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), respectively – two parties that pulled out from APNU following disagreements over different issues in the aftermath of the APNU+AFC’s loss of the 2020 elections.

According to the unsigned statement, PNCR had never agreed to accept the recently formed parties into APNU. The CEC members behind the statement are of the view that they might be shell “parties”. It was stated too that the CEC, in its last meeting, had instructed Granger and PNCR’s General Secretary, Amna Ally to put the admission of ERJP and GNBM on hold.

Elected member of the CEC, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles.

The reason for this, the statement revealed was to facilitate a full discussion on the status of the partnership. Despite this decision, the statement claimed that Granger went ahead and publicly advertised that PNCR has accepted the “shell parties” as part of the APNU.

This alleged move was labeled as a “one-man-show” in the unsigned statement and its authors detailed that PNCR will not allow Granger “to get away with it”.

Calls were made too for members of the party to decide which side of history they want to be on.

“Are we going to be on the side of history and good practice and abide by the constitution of our great party or are we going to accept these breaches of our constitution and unilateral decision making?” was the question posed in the unsigned statement.

Moreover, the authors opined that PNCR knows nothing about these parties.

Claims were even made that ERJP and GNBM were never launched nationally and that PNCR is unaware of the benefits they can bring to the table before even considering to accept them into the partnership.

Forty-eight hours later, five members of the PNCR’s CEC signed a letter that was sent to editors of the various media houses; in the letter, they disassociated themselves from the views of their colleagues who made the unsigned statement.

Leader of the Guyana Nation Builders Movement (GNBM), Tabitha J. Sarabo-Halley.

Those members are, Jennifer Ferreira-Dougal, Shurwayne Holder, Ganesh Mahipaul, Ernest Elliott and Annette Ferguson.

A section of the letter read, “PNCR disassociates itself from the ‘Statement.’ We wish to point out that the CEC did not authorise, and does not endorse the public disclosure of discussion of internal Party matters under current consideration by the Central Executive Committee”.

The five referred to their colleagues as a minority group of cowards who are not brave enough to affix their names to the statement.

“We denounce, most emphatically, the personal attacks against our constitutionally-elected party Leader, Mr. David Granger, by a minority of persons who did not have the courage to affix their names to the ‘Statement’ but who claimed, cowardly, to write on behalf of the entire CEC”, they stated in the letter.

The five also argued that the decision to accept the two parties into APNU was made by the APNU Executive Council (AEC), the Partnership’s highest decision-making body.

Leader of Equal Rights and Justice Party (ERJP), Jaipaul Sharma

They posited too that the decision was made in “a properly constituted meeting held on Thursday, June 10, 2021.”

Kaieteur News made contact yesterday with the Chair of the PNC/R, Volda Lawrence with regard to her view on the two letters. The former Minister of Health and second-in-charge of the Party, referred this newspaper to the letter published in Stabroek News and stated that what was reported is accurate and she stands by that. The SN report had carried the full unsigned letter and stated that the paper had confirmed its accuracy with two members of the CEC although it had not named them.

Speaking with this publication yesterday, Amna Ally, PNCR’s General Secretary, said that the second letter signed by the five does not represent the views of all CEC members – information provided by the Party yesterday showed a membership of 36 active members. Ally said that while she does not know how many members and who are behind the unsigned statement, she pointed out that there are other members who support and endorse the signed letter.

PNCR leader, David Granger

One such member is Ronald Bulkan. In an invited comment on the issue he said, “It is groundless for anyone to accuse Mr. Granger of being a ‘one-man show’.”

Bulkan continued, “The admission of the new parties into APNU was properly done in accordance with APNU’s procedures.”

When asked if a majority of the CEC members had granted Granger permission to accept the new parties, Bulkan responded, “The decision was one of APNU’s Executive Council (AEC).”

This newspaper further asked Bulkan if the PNC’s CEC has any role to play in the decision-making of the AEC or if it is protocol for PNCR’s representative on the Council to receive permission from CEC before making certain decisions.

His final response was “the letter to the media authored by Jenny Ferreira and others is clear and explicit and there is no need for me to add anything.”

Other senior members of the PNCR’s CEC have disagreed with Bulkan’s views and have informed Kaieteur News that they do not approve of the letter signed by their colleagues.

Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, after stating that he does not support the letter, explained that members on the AEC represent the various parties of the partnership.

Treasurer of CEC, Ronald Bulkan

Van-West Charles continued, that before casting any votes, it is only right for those representatives to consult with their respective parties first. He added that CEC which is the highest decision-making body within the PNCR after congress had held a meeting about the inclusion of the new parties in APNU. It was decided, Van West-Charles continued, to put the decision-making on hold. He recalled too that, the Chairman of the Committee meeting, Lawrence, had asked for persons to raise their hands if they had any objection.

“No one had raised their hands,” Van-West Charles told Kaieteur News.
He went on to point out that despite it being ruled that the decision-making be put on hold, Granger still went ahead and accepted the two new parties.

The senior CEC member also highlighted that when APNU was being formed, former PNCR leader, Robert Corbin had made it clear that he was instructed by the CEC to make the decisions.

Another member of CEC who does not endorse the second letter is Aubrey Norton. He said his colleagues who signed the letter are not even elected members of the CEC but Regional Representatives. Norton was correct about that with the exception of Annette Ferguson who is an elected member and Vice-Chair of the Party.

He did not comment any further but in relation to the acceptance of the new , he said that CEC had made a decision on the matter and he will address it at the level of the committee. Both Van-West Charles and Norton, as well as Lawrence, are expected to contest Granger’s leadership position at the party’s Congress, which is expected to be held later this year.

Kaieteur News contacted other CEC members, five of whom declined to comment while others claimed to have not seen the signed letter. The remaining members did not answer their phones.

In the past month alone, the CEC has seen three significant resignations, all citing that the direction of the party’s present leadership is ill-suited.
Thandi McAllister, an attorney-at-law and Legal Counsel at the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), had left in June. In a press release, McAllister was quoted as saying that she decided to resign after a very careful and agonising consideration and concluding that the present direction of PNCR’s leadership is ill-suited to the fulfillment of the aspirations of young people in Guyana.

Brian Smith, a former member of the party who served for some 15 years chose to not to renew his membership in June as well. He had criticised the party’s leadership of backward thinking and said that he is not prepared to be burdened by older fights. Another who had resigned for similar reasons too was businessman, Shawn Hopkinson.

Granger defends move to unilaterally accept new parties into APNU

– says PNC/R is part of APNU not APNU part of PNC/R

By Shervin Belgrave, Jul 25, 2021 - News, Source - Kaieteur News Online - https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...w-parties-into-apnu/

Kaieteur News – Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform, (PNC/R), David Granger, on Friday last defended his recent move to unilaterally accept two new parties into A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

Granger, who has not held a press conference for over a year and who does not grant access to independent media, was at the time being interviewed by Gabriella Patram on his weekly online media programme called “Public Interest”.

During the interview the PNC/R leader indicated that he did not need any instruction or advice from his party’s Central Executive Council (CEC) to accept the parties into the partnership.

Those two new parties are the Equal Rights and Justice Party (ERJP) consisting of former Minister, Jaipaul Sharma; and the Guyana Nation Builders Movement (GNBM) formed by current Member of Parliament, Tabitha J. Sarabo-Halley.

Citing the recent controversy that arose over his decision to accept them into APNU without getting the greenlight from the PNC/R’s CEC, Patram asked him to shed some clarity on the matter. In his response Granger posited that the controversy stemmed from a misunderstanding and stated, “Both Sarabo-Halley and Sharma (leaders of the new parties) submitted their applications to the APNU Executive Council (AEC)”.

He continued his defence by stating, “The PNC is part of APNU and not the other way around – APNU is not a part of PNC and so the APNU Executive Council met and I think it was in June, the 11th of June, and we examined the applications and accepted them.”

Granger further stated that by the time his party’s CEC met, the AEC made up of representatives from the Guyana Action Party (GAP), National Front Alliance (NFA) and the PNC/R had already accepted the new parties. The PNC/R leader added that after the decision was made he reported it to the CEC.

Stopping short from saying that some of his party comrades did not agree with his decision, Granger related that “there seems to be a frenzy in the media because of a perception”.

He said that he doesn’t know if the perception is that the two new parties should not have been accepted. Kaieteur News had reported on July 18, there was a major rift in the PNC/R over the acceptance of the new parties into the partnership. The rift came to light after the media had reported on an unsigned statement by some members of the CEC accusing Granger of turning PNCR into a “one man show” by unilaterally accepting the parties.

The statement was reportedly circulated to party members just moments before a virtual observance of APNU’s 10th anniversary. It is believed that some of the CEC members decided to make the statement after they saw the new parties’ symbols affixed to the programme of the anniversary observance.

According to the unsigned statement, PNC/R had never agreed to accept the recently formed parties into APNU. The CEC members behind the statement are of the view that they might be shell “parties”.

It was stated too that the CEC, in its last meeting, had instructed Granger and PNCR’s General Secretary, Amna Ally to put the admission of ERJP and GNBM on hold, but they went ahead and accepted.

While some members of the CEC supported Granger’s move other senior members opposed. Chairman of PNC/R, Volda Lawrence had confirmed support of the anti-Granger release and Aubrey Norton and Dr. Richard Van-West Charles shared their views with this newspaper.

Van-West Charles had explained that members on the AEC represent the various parties of the partnership and that before casting any vote, it is only right for those representatives to consult with their respective parties first. Apart from the controversy over whether Granger was correct in making such a decision by himself, the authors behind the unsigned statement had opined too, that PNC/R knows nothing about the new parties he had accepted.

Claims were made that ERJP and GNBM were never launched nationally and that PNCR is unaware of the benefits they can bring to the table before even considering accepting them into the partnership.

In Friday’s interview however, Granger argued, contrary to those who disagreed with him, that his move to accept ERJP and GNBM is a good one because its leaders are well known to the coalition.

Granger started off by saying, “After the elections last year two partners, the WPA (Working People Alliance) and the JPA (Justice for All) had left and the vacancies were not filled”.

He continued that two other persons, Sarabo-Halley and Sharma who were former members of the WPA and JFA respectively, and ex-ministers in the coalition formed new parties and applied to fill the slots. With regards to Sharma, Granger detailed that he has been with APNU since 2012 and described him as “a hard working minister” who is “no slouch”.

He added that after reviewing their applications the AEC felt that they were “quite in order” and had cited the fact that they were always members of the coalition who had served as ministers.

Sharing his personal view on the decision, the PNC/R leader stated that he feels that both of their parties would be able to bring constituency into the partnership. Granger added too, that GNBM and ERJP have a concept paper, along with their own logo and structure paper which have been submitted to PNC/R for scrutiny.

Indirectly responding to the criticisms of why the parties were not fit to be accepted into APNU in the first place, Granger said, “We have always insisted that we shouldn’t be disparaging or we shouldn’t speak of parties as if they were non-entities”.
Moreover, he continued, PNC/R for a couple of decades now has embraced the concept of “inclusionary or coalition politics” and the admission of these new parties was a fulfillment of that mandate.
That mandate, stated Granger, is a mission to create this “big benab” and in order to do this, other minor or smaller parties should be encouraged to join. Granger said too, that there is nothing wrong with any party, regardless of its size, seeking to join APNU. The only thing these parties have to do, according to the PNC/R leader, is to adhere to the core values of APNU.
Granger’s recent comments come in stark contrast to his assertion in the lead up to the 2020 elections that new parties that were formed in the lead up to those polls, would need to prove that they had a constituency. Neither Sarabo-Halley nor Sharma have offered any membership of their respective new parties outside of themselves.

Granger is a dicktator who is sick and should be sent away on compassionate leave.