Leader of the People’s National Congress David Granger on Friday “clarified” in a press release, several party-related issues reported in the media.
During his weekly programme, ‘The Public Interest’, Granger deemed many of the criticisms against the party to be “unfounded and uninformed,” the release stated.
The PNC leader said in the release that a sub-committee of the Party’s Central Executive Committee is still working out the modalities of proposals for convening the Party’s Delegates Congress which were presented since April 19.
Granger said that, traditionally, more than 1,200 delegates and observers would assemble at the Party’s headquarters for Congress but, in light of the raging pandemic, that could be a super-spreader event which neither the state nor party could condone.
“In his opinion, a small group of seven persons was on a campaign to exaggerate the issues relating to convening Congress despite being aware that huge gatherings were disallowed owing to the pandemic and plans were actively being made for a ‘virtual’ Congress to be held,” the release stated.
According to the release, the former president also criticized as “fake news” several media reports suggesting that ‘no-confidence motions’ had been passed against him.
He maintained, according to the release, “that no one seemed to have ascertained the text and details of the motions and whether an opportunity was allowed for a response to the accusations and the amount of votes recorded in favour or against”.
The release further stated: “Recently, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), of which Mr. Granger is chairman, had also been criticized for accepting two new parties – the Equal Rights and Justice Party and Guyana Nation Builders Movement. Both are led by well-known younger, former APNU ministers and their admission was approved on June 11 at an Executive Council meeting.
“Mr. Granger has also explained the reason for several senior Party officials not returning to the National Assembly. Some former MPS had already served at least three parliamentary terms of about 12 to 15 years and were an average of 62 years old while the average age of new entrants was 42 years. This was a deliberate policy to ensure 50-50 gender balance and give younger MPs an opportunity to lead the Party’s parliamentary thrust in the forthcoming ‘decade of development.”
(This People’s National Congress press release was slightly modified)
