…President Granger says, as party commissions Congress House in Mahdia

SIXTY-ONE years into its existence, the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) remains a force to be reckoned with in leading the way in local democracy, President of Guyana and Leader of the party, David Granger said.

He was at the time speaking at the commissioning of the party’s Congress House in Mahdia, on Thursday. The establishment of Congress House Mahdia, forms part of the PNCR’s vision to set up congress houses in the 10 Administrative Regions of the country, President Granger said, as he addressed scores of members and supporters in the newly built meeting hall. “This is part of our vision, but more than vision you need a mission, and you need institutions. You cannot build a national party by simply having congresses in Georgetown, you must have roots in all of the regions,” he said.

The President said the party members and supporters should be educated on the ideals and objectives of the PNCR and that the congress houses must serve as hubs. “Our members and the public as a whole must understand what we stand for, must understand our challenges, and that we are working to overcome those challenges with their support,” the PNCR leader stated.

STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
Over the decades, the PNCR leader said, the party continues to grow from strength to strength with strong roots in key parts of the country. “We are not a cocktail party. We are a party with strong roots among the people,” he boasted, while emphasising that it is a national party for all the people.

President Granger said the PNCR, which is the senior partner in the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition Government, has strong leaders who continue to champion local democracy and equitable development.

“We are leaders in this country. We are the ones who are leading this Local Government Elections (LGEs). [The] PPP refused to call Local Government Elections for 22 years. We got into office in 2015 and in 10 months, 10 months, not 22 months, 10 months we had Local Government Elections,” he said, while alluding to his APNU+AFC Government.

Singling out the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, President Granger said prior to May 2015, the PPP/C had uprooted 38 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and municipalities and installed Interim Management Committees (IMCs).
He recalled that on August 2013, when the APNU and AFC used their collective majority to pass four Local Government Bills – the Fiscal Transfers Bill, the Local Government (Amendment) Bill, the Municipal and District Councils (Amendment) Bill, and the Local Government Commission Bill, the then President Donald Ramotar had withheld his assent.
“We passed four bills in the National Assembly along with [the] AFC and the most important bills, the PPP refused to assent to or implement,” President Granger said.
He added that it was the APNU together with the AFC that had struggled to bring local democracy back to Guyana after 22 years. For this, the President said, no one could criticise the democratic credentials of the PNCR, emphasising that the party is a leader in coalition governance and inclusionary democracy.

“Never before May 2015, have six parties come together to form a government…People said we will go it alone, people said winner takes all but we believe that we are better together, stronger together,” President Granger said, noting that sacrifices had to be made.

BRUTAL YEARS
Minister of Communities and treasurer of the PNCR, Ronald Bulkan, while noting that the building would allow for the party to effectively conduct its work in the region, thanked persons like Dennis Boalt and Julio Pereira, for contributing to its development.

Bulkan, who did not mince words, told the PNCR members and supporters present that the PNCR had experienced some “barren years” after 1992 when the PPP took office. According to him, the period after 2001 was “brutal”, explaining that the party had haemorrhaged approximately 51,000 votes between 2001 and 2006.

“Our supporters had literally given up hope that we could ever return to office but nothing lasts forever,” he said.

He noted that the party regained approximately half of the 51,000 votes in 2011 under the umbrella of the APNU. In 2015, the APNU partnered with the AFC, and won the elections.
“The message of 2015, however, is that the PPP had closed the gap. The margin that separated us of 9000 votes in 2011 was reduced to below 5000. This brings me from 1957 to another number 1837. No, I am not taking you on a historical journey but rather I am referring to the number of votes we secured in this region in 2015…just a single vote more than the PPP, and which allowed us to enjoy the parliamentary seat for this region,” Minister Bulkan said.

The APNU+AFC Government, he said, however lost control of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Region Eight. Nonetheless, he said, Guyana is now on the crossroads while alluding to the oil and gas industry, which is expected to transform the country’s economic and infrastructural landscape.
“The key issue is who will be in charge of this JACKPOT? He charged the members and supporters to play their part to allow the country to remain in “the safe hands” of their leader.
Mahdia PNCR District Chairman, Timothy Junor, admonished the residents of Mahdia to be patient with the government, noting that nothing happens overnight. Minister of State Joseph Harmon; Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally; APNU Region Eight Parliamentary Representative, Gloria Bancroft; and mayors from Bartica, Linden, Mabaruma and Lethem were among the officials present at the commissioning ceremony.

Shortly after commissioning the Congress House, the President with help from his government ministers, distributed 30 bicycles to children of the region and unveiled a billboard of Mahdia. For the unveiling, the President was assisted by 91-year-old Fitzroy Alcee, Mahdia’s oldest resident.