…Oscar Clarke retires

MINISTER of Social Protection, Amna Ally, has been appointed General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) by President David Granger.
In a statement to the media on Friday, the party said that President Granger who is Leader of the PNCR, appointed Ally effective today (Friday) as former General Secretary Oscar Clarke, CCH, who served the party through the tenures of three party leaders retired on Friday.
Clarke was appointed General Secretary of the PNCR on the December 1, 1968. He started his service to the PNC in its youth arm and at age 26 was selected to represent the Party in the National Assembly. In 1965, he was made a Parliamentary Secretary and served as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from the 1st January, 1969 to 31st December, 1969.

“In a long and illustrious career that spanned over five decades, Oscar Clarke served his nation as Minister of State, Minster of Regional Development, Minster of Home Affairs, Guyana’s High Commissioner to Zambia and the Front-Line States and Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba,” the release stated.
Clarke served as a Member of Parliament for 21 years and was awarded the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH for his exemplary public service to Guyana in 2015.
The Constitution of the People’s National Congress (PNC), at Rule 14 (2) (a), states: The Party Leader shall appoint the General Secretary from among the members of the Central Executive Committee as provided for under Rule 17 (1) (c).

The Constitution states, further, at Rule 14 (4): The General Secretary shall be the Chief Executive Officer in charge of the Party Secretariat and shall be responsible for its efficient organisation and its day-to-day functioning.
According to the Party, President Granger made the structural changes within his party given the unfolding nature of the country’s politics.
“Taking into consideration the unfolding political situation in the country and the aspirations of the people, it is my opinion that, in this Diamond Jubilee Year, the restructuring of the General Secretariat would position the Party more advantageously to continue to serve the people of Guyana,” the President was quoted as saying, even as he expressed gratitude to Clarke for his selfless, unstinting service as General Secretary to the Party.

Meanwhile, Ally, is a long standing member of the PNCR and like her predecessor Clarke, she came through the ranks of the Party’s youth arm and served as National Secretary and on the National Executive.
Ally is an elected member of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the PNCR and before being appointed as General Secretary, she served as the Assistant General Secretary of the Party. She is a trained teacher who also holds a Degree in Management from the University of Guyana.
The new General Secretary also served as a member of the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Parliament, 2001-2015 and is currently serving as Chief Whip and Minister of Social Protection in the Eleventh Parliament.

Additionally, President Granger has appointed Dawn Hastings-Williams, MP; Sandra Adams, MS and Brian Smith as the three Principal Political Secretaries (PPS) in accordance with Rule 14 (2) (c) of the Party’s Constitution.
Hastings-Williams, MP, is a member of the General Council of the PNCR representing Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and was selected by the PNCR to serve as a member of the National Assembly in February 2010. In 2011. She represented A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in the Tenth Parliament and currently serves in the Eleventh Parliament as the Minister within the Ministry of Communities.

Sandra Adams is a member of the Central Executive Committee of the PNCR where she represents the National Congress of Women (NCW), the women’s arm of the Party. She is a former legislator and represented the PNC in the National Assembly for seven years (16th February, 1998 – 2nd May, 2006).
The third Principal Political Secretary (PAS), Brian Smith, serves as the National Secretary of the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM), and is a representative of the Party’s youth arm on the Central Executive Committee. Smith is a final-year student at the University of Guyana (UG) reading for a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations.
Use file photo of Amna Ally