Looking ahead to general and regional elections, President David Granger, in his capacity as Leader of the Peoples’ National Congress Reform (PNCR), called on Guyanese to be vigilant. He said, “we have to build a more equal society. We cannot allow the agents of division to separate us.”
The PNCR Leader made these comments and more last Saturday at Congress Place, Sophia when the party held its second meeting of the General Council for 2019.
The President warned, “These elections can be used as an instrument to separate our people; to divide our people, and we must not allow that to happen.”
In his feature address, President Granger gave members of the General Council of the PNCR an overview of the current political situation in Guyana. Referring to the interim status of the government, the President said, “We are observing the rules and convention which govern Interim Administrations. So as far as the executive branch is concerned, we are still functional, we are still the government.”
On the matter of general and regional elections, the Party Leader iterated that it was GECOM that has the responsibility to indicate to the President when it (GECOM) is ready to hold elections. He further reminded that the Constitution mandated that “the Commission shall exercise general direction and supervision over the registration of electors and administrative conduct of all elections of members of the National Assembly.”
He urged party members to remain in campaign mode. President Granger said that Guyanese were looking to the PNCR for leadership. He said that over the past 62 years the Party (PNCR) had learned a lot of lessons. He said, “Many of historical detractors have become partners because the PNC believes in inclusionary government.
“We [the PNC] are prepared to sit down with our former adversaries and work for the good of this country. We welcome all parties into our government as long as they are committed to the development of our people.”
President Granger told the General Council that the next decade would be a decade of development. The President said, “We are entering a decade of development; it is not a dream. Our decade of development must deliver a plan to transform Guyana, to deliver a good life for all, to give our children an opportunity to get off the streets and go to school; it must be a decade that gives young people jobs; it must be a decade in which rural and hinterland residents could enjoy similar access to public services.”
Outlining his vision for the decade of development, the President said, “Our vision is of a prosperous Guyana, with enough for everyone… to create a society in which all our children and all our old-folks could find that, they have a place and will not be shunned to the periphery of society.” He said that there must be opportunity for all. “We must encourage our young people; people in the rural and hinterland communities to stick with our Party; our programme and our plan, to ensure that development is not for a few but for all,” the President said.
President Ganger reminded his Party’s General Council that the Constitution of Guyana ensures free education for all. The President said that free education was an entitlement and his party and government would not waver from that responsibility. The President said that part of the plan for the decade of development was to provide housing for all Guyanese. He said, “during the decade of development there must be a roof over every head…when we speak of housing for all, we are not speaking of an impossible dream.”
Referring to the emerging petroleum sector, President Granger said that the proceeds would be used to re-energise the economy. The President said, “The new resource will bring profit to the Guyana people. We will set-up a sovereign wealth fund; we will ensure that the proceeds from that resource will benefit the whole people; we will ensure that it becomes the trigger, the platform for economic development.” He said that the proceeds from the petroleum sector would go towards ensuring education and employment for all.
Looking ahead to general and regional elections, the President and Party Leader called on Guyanese to be vigilant. He said, “We have to build a more equal society. We cannot allow the agents of division to separate us.” The President warned, “These elections can be used as an instrument to separate our people; to divide our people and we must not allow that to happen.”
Reports for the last quarter were presented to General Council by the Campaign Managers of the ten administrative regions. A panel discussion on “The Way Forward” and plenary followed which also discussed the Leader’s address, the Chairman’s remarks and the house-to-house registration along with the Party’s preparations for elections.
The General Council was chaired by Volda Lawrence, Chairperson of the PNCR. The proceedings concluded with a summation and charge to General Council by President Granger.
The General Council is the second-highest decision-making forum of the Party and meets once every quarter.
