IT would be the apt starting point to a public letter to say that with the understanding of the concept “collective responsibility” with regards to being a member of a national political party, I therefore wish to apologise from the bottom of my heart to the Nation and any member of my party, that I or any other member, may have hurt or disappointed during the 18th Biennial Congress. 

Anything I said or did, I did out of love and with the best interest of my Party in mind. I also wish to state emphatically that I am even more resolved after the 18th Biennial Congress that David Granger is the best-suited individual to lead the PNCR, the APNU and be Commander in Chief. He is the only leader in this new era of politics to which members of another party and another race leave their respective party and publicly align themselves to him. He has thus far displayed great leadership and character in the face of great tribulation and testing.

Much has been said about the actions and reactions of our brothers and sisters in Region 10 but not a single condemnation has emanated from the lips of David Granger or the leadership of the PNCR, none will come from me either. In fact David has done the opposite. He has extended an olive branch to people of Region 10 and their leaders in an effort to do a forensic analysis of the concerns of the Region and iron out the kinks. Our brothers and sisters of Region 10 are passionate, as we all are, about the direction of our Country and Party and this must be recognised. We must however, never forget to temper such passion with prudence, which will be the thrust of this letter. I wish to also state emphatically that during the 18th Biennial Congress of the People’s National Congress Reform, no rigging took place and there were no irregularities or voter fraud. The process was transparent and robust, even I as a member of the Central Executive and a Member of Parliament was subjected to scrutiny. The voting was smoother than one conducted by GECOM.

Further I wish to posit, that the People’s National Congress Reform is the only political party in Guyana who have repeatedly afforded its members the dignity and respect of voting for all of their leaders. This symbolises our readiness to serve the entire Guyanese population and to protect the democratic processes they deserve. The leaders of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) know fully well that if they put such power in the hand of their ordinary members then the vast majority of those leaders will be kicked out of the hierarchy of the PPP/C.

Now to responsibilities: as a member of a political party each member is yoked to another member as a continuous team of oxen plowing the national fields for the national yield. Leaders are also oxen yoked to individual members, they aren’t the farmers driving the team. The farmer driving the team may be likened to the goals and ideals and objects of the party. If we the oxen, leaders and members alike pull in opposite directions we either break the yoke or we break our necks. In either scenario the fields will be left to grass and thorns and the children starve.

We the members of the People’s National Congress Reform must always be cognisant that we have a collective responsibility first to our Nation, then the Party and finally ourselves to do what is right and principled and in the best interest of our beloved Party – the People’s National Congress Reform.
We the members of the People’s National Congress Reform must always remember that our actions or inactions impact the livelihood, views and morale of every single Guyanese man, woman, boy and girl here in the Motherland and in the Diaspora. Our actions or inactions ultimately have a bearing on whether the Romesh rises his cutlass or whether Grace immunises a babe, whether he/she is confident that he/she will be paid and whether he/she will be able to make a tangible investment in our country with his/her earnings and whether he/she will allow his/her children to stay and live and enjoy the fruits of his/her hard work.
His/her interactions with the members of the Police Force and other public servants, his/her interactions at his/her temple, church or mosque, in his/her village and on his/her cricket/football pitch; are all affected by the actions and inactions of every member of the People’s National Congress Reform.
His/her views on the actions of the Government, his/her sympathies to and trust/distrust of other political parties, his/her views of the People’s National Congress Reform and his/her perceptions of their members and policies and programmes are all intertwined with the actions and inactions of every member of the People’s National Congress Reform.
This is the burden we bear as the largest Opposition party in Guyana and as the greatest component in APNU. This is our yoke as a ‘national party’ with representatives from all Ten Administrative Regions from every race, colour and creed, every religion and faith and every ideological persuasion.

I never understood the magnitude of this burden until Sunday and I am equally sure some of my brothers and sisters have not either, hence I write this letter. We cannot speak of breaking up the party, we cannot conveniently quote Ptomely Reid that for “construction there must be destruction”.
Yes, we must speak out against injustices and we must never be afraid of having differences in opinion and voicing those opinions without fear or favour but our words and actions must always be guided by our collective responsibility of preserving the health, prosperity and security of our brothers and sisters. Guyana first, then our Party, then our aspirations. We must always yearn for the greater national good.

The People’s National Congress Reform that I am a proud member of is not a perfect party but within its core and around its rim we are a family. Even after Mr. Norton would have raised numerous objections during the session I chaired I never once passed him straight before, during or thereafter but always greeted him formally. He even came to me afterwards and said whatever you do ensure no one can find fault in it. I told him thanks for the advice.

I ask our members then, how could we break up a party at this critical time in our nation’s history or in our party’s history. Were I Aubrey Norton, there would have been a consensus candidate. Were I Aubrey Norton, there would have been no public protests at Congress Place. Were I Aubrey Norton, my concerns about the integrity of the process would have been fixed by me and my team working with the General Secretary to fix them.
Were I Aubrey Norton, I would have gathered the elders of the party and sought their intervention in resolving these disputes internally and maturely. Were I Aubrey Norton, I would go to the Central Executive and every group that would have me and plead my case to them. For I believe all disputes could be resolved in a respectful and decent manner once the root problems are identified. The Kaieteur News, Demerara Waves, INews, News Source, Stabroek News, Guyana Times and Guyana Chronicle would not have been my first audience. However I am not Aubrey Norton. I am, as they say, a young man, a newcomer and “I ent know nuttin” but I have had good parenting; a wise father and mother who have instilled certain systems and principles within me that I could discern my flaws and the flaws of others and make adjustments.

My mind at the time of penning this missive takes me back to the first principle Aubrey Norton shared with me on a trip to Linden in 2009 which was that ‘in politics you must have your own politics’. Aubrey Norton must remember that lesson and remember his politics also. I know he has the good memory to remember the Art of War by Master Sun Tzu, a book given to me by Ronald Austin Snr. “with every good wish”. Aubrey Norton is a war-room/boiler-room General as likened by Master Sun Tzu. His role is not to be the Leader of the army but to manipulate and devise strategies that would help the army win the battle and make the Leader of the army the hero. He must remember that he as a war-room/boiler-room General is equally as responsible as David Granger (who leads the entire army) for a victory or loss. This is the politics Aubrey Norton once practiced with Winston Murray, Carl Grenidge and in Linden during the 2011 Campaign. This is in effect an aspect of collective responsibility, which he should dare not forget.

Finally, every voice in Guyana, whether their names are David, Khemraj, Rupert, Moses, Nigel, Raphael, Amna, Volda, Cathy, Simona, Fredrick, Christopher, C.N., Ralph, Clinton or Mark will tell you quite frankly that the enemy is not the PPP/C but the non-holding of local government elections that stifle our communities, poverty, unemployment and under employment facing our young and industrious Guyanese men and women, corruption and nepotism, low wages and salaries, economic stagnation, murders, robberies, piracies, suicides every societal ill and national cancer that has been allowed to flourish by the programmes and policies and general ineptitude of the PPPC. That is why the PPP/C must be removed, for with the PPP/C at the helm we have nowhere to go but down. There are no rewards for hard work, no national pride, no satisfaction that the Government of the day is looking after our interests the best way they could. We have all had enough!

We must all therefore sound our collective voices and let the leadership of AFC and APNU know that we depend on them for a political solution to end racial distrust and forge national unity. They have been given what Rev. Raphael Massiah told me on my 14th birthday- time and opportunity! God has given our leaders in the AFC and APNU this time and this opportunity to bring Guyanese together to heal our land from the sickness of racism and make us whole again, they must seize it. This is our collective responsibility as Guyanese.

JAMES A. BOND, M.P.