Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jnr. has taken a jab at the main Parliamentary Opposition for not giving its younger members a chance to lead.
In a statement today, the Minister noted that with the recent appointment of Beverly Alert as the opposition’s newest Member of Parliament (MP), the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) has once again proven – just as it did in government – that there is no place for young people in the party.
Ramson said that since the beginning of the year, three APNU+AFC MPs have resigned, only to be replaced by persons in their 50s and 60s.
“Those who resigned as MPs [are] Joseph Harmon, Nicolette Henry, and Raphel Trotman. The persons selected by the APNU-AFC to fill the seats in Parliament were Aubrey Norton, Volda Lawrence, and now Beverly Alert – all in their 50s and 60s…Guyanese, especially young Guyanese, must see the choice of appointment as MPs by the APNU-AFC for what it really is – that there is no future for young people with the APNU-AFC,” the Minister said.
He added, “Aubrey Norton and other members of the APNU-AFC will profess their love for young people while in Opposition but when it comes to promoting young people to positions of power, responsibility, and authority they prove time and time again that their love is just a trick to get their support.”
He noted also that while in opposition, prior to 2015, the APNU-AFC promised that young people would be placed in positions of power, but when the opportunity came to make an appointment, the party reneged.
“It did not appoint a single young person as Minister in 2015. In fact, it took a vote of no confidence against the APNU-AFC Government before an appointment could be made in 2019 in breach of the Constitution. Young leaders like James Bond, Christopher Jones, Trevor Williams who became Members of Parliament from APNU and AFC while they were in Opposition during the 2011-2015 period could not even get re-appointed as MPs during the 2015-2020 period let alone become appointed as Ministers and Members of the Cabinet,” Ramson noted.
He added, “The APNU-AFC destroyed the political careers of all their young leaders who will now never experience government and that is the fact that they will have to live with. There is no future for young people with the APNU-AFC”.
