Even though the details of his latest appointment as Advisor on Borders are still being defined, Carl Greenidge has categorically stated that his role will not be political but specifically in defence of the national interest. The former Minister even stressed that his acceptance of the position is bigger than politics; “it is about love of country.”
Greenidge who has been a long standing member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) for more than 42 years made this comment in response to questions from the Guyana Standard regarding criticisms he would have faced since the announcement of the by the PPP/C Government.
The Advisor said, “Some people are of the opinion that I should not have accepted the appointment. To this I say that we as Guyanese have a challenge that is bigger than the choice of government and that challenge has to do with the space in which we live. If our country is seized in part or (in the extreme case) in its entirety by our neighbours there would be little point in having a government whether it is led by the People’s National Congress /Reform or the People’s Progressive Party /Civic (PPP).”
The former Minister added, “My task is to work with the national teams to ensure that we keep and benefit from the space our forebears bequeathed to us. That effort needs to span all parties.”
Further to this, Greenidge said that the area over which a country exercises sovereignty has to be defended. That is the first priority of a country’s leaders he noted. In keeping with that principle, Greenidge said during his time as Foreign Secretary and Minister of Foreign Affairs, even when former President David Granger was unable to do so, he made it his duty to engage the PPP/C and encouraged them to participate in the discussions with the United Nations Special representative as well as for the preparation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearings. Greenidge said he is pleased to have been successful in that endeavour and hopes that for the same reason, the APNU/AFC Opposition would do the same while noting that at the end of the day, the beneficiary has been Guyana and its citizens.
Even though he faces some harsh criticism in the local blogs to the effect that his acceptance of the role of Advisor is akin to joining the PPP, Greenidge said he is unperturbed. The Advisor explained that criticism is part of the price paid for being in politics. “In this business, you should only allow informed criticism to stress you and the most appropriate way to deal with it is to ensure that your actions are justified. Malicious or uninformed criticism will fall away with the passage of time,” expressed the PPP Advisor.
Additionally, Greenidge said he is not at this stage in his career, about to allow fear of criticism to lead to paralysis. He stressed that the fight before the court has to be undertaken regardless of which Party is in office.
