Promoting meaningful change at the national level

Oct 06, 2008 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
I wish to respond to a letter by Ms. Lurlene Nestor under the caption “PNCR stands steadfast in its mission to bring about meaningful change” (Kaieteur News 02.10.08).

In the presidential campaign in the United States, the Mc Cain ticket is promoting Governor Sarah Palin as someone who has taken on the leadership of the Republican Party, and is criticising Senators Obama and Biden for not having track records of taking on the Democratic leadership.

Apparently, taking on the party’s leadership is viewed as a desirable quality. Well, Diego Martin MP must have heard something because, during the recent budget debate in the Trinidad and Tobago House of Representatives, he said: “I will support the PNM. I will stand by the PNM. I am PNM.

But I am not supporting that!”  The cases of Lawrence Maharaj in the UNC of Trinidad and the leadership contest in the PNP of Jamaica are also striking examples. As we look around CARICOM, we see numerous examples of how democracy works in political parties.

Clearly, Ms. Nestor’s letter, coming just a few days after the public reports of the PNCR’s action against Vincent Alexander and James McAllister, has a very hollow ring. I must ask Ms. Nestor, “What change?” Agents of change generally promote the things they practice.

I wish to examine the issue of double standards in the PNCR. Ms. Nestor, a former MP, former CEC member of the PNCR, and former National Chairman of the GYSM, has publicly congratulated supporters of the party for attending a “successful General Council Meeting.”  I must therefore clarify some misconceptions by Ms. Nestor about the PNCR’s General Council.

1.  General Council is the highest decision making forum of the party between congresses.

2.  A duly constituted General Council of the party should only include CEC members, MP’s, regional and town councillors, candidates and certain specified party functionaries. It’s definitely not a forum for supporters. However, let us look at the issue of non-members attending General Council.

More than a year ago, at the last General Council meeting of the party, which I attended, the General Secretary announced that the practice of non-GC members attending these meeting would be brought to an end.  This decision was made because the uncontrolled attendance at these meetings was to the discomfort of Mr. Corbin.

However, prior to and after the last general elections, bus loads of young people from Linden, many not even members of the party at the time, were mobilized to attend GC meetings. Many of these young people, when asked, could not say why they were in Georgetown. 

After the party’s announcement of the members selected to represent it in Parliament and the RDC’s, it was realised that no member of the GYSM was selected for Parliament.

A larger than normal amount of GYSM members attended the GC to express dissatisfaction. However, on this occasion, the GYSM National Chairman was reprimanded for the successful GYSM turn out.

So it was ok for non-members of the party to attend General Council as an excursion in order to undercut the duly elected National Chairman of the GYSM, but it was improper for legitimate members of the GYSM to attend.

However, if Ms. Nestor is to be believed, it is now ok all over again for supporters and non-GC members to attend. What double standards!

I think it is important that supporters of the party understand the sort of double standards that are played by the Leadership of Congress Place on a regular basis. 

During the run-up to the last congress of the party, the General Secretary of the party summoned a General Council meeting of the GYSM. 

When members turned up at Congress Place, two serving members of the Guyana Defence Force, who were specifically recruited to provide security, greeted them.

It became apparent that these non-members of the party and GYSM were given a list of names of the persons who should be allowed in. How this list arrived at was anybody’s guess, since the National Executive Committee of the GYSM never decided on that list.

A number of GYSM members who were properly invited were rudely turned away in Gestapo style.  This is the sort of double standards practised and condoned by members like Ms. Nestor at Congress Place.

Ms. Nestor implores members not to resort to the role of “opportunist critics” and “…not be distracted by those who are plotting, daily to wean our energies and thwart our focus.”  If members and supporters of the party are going to be called names and be labelled negatively by fellow members for constructively criticising the Leadership of the party, then what should we expect when we critique the PPP/C. 

The days of a Maximum Leader and a leader being sacrosanct are over.  Let’s not just demand democracy, but practise it. If the party is serious about bringing about meaningful change, then let it start internally by cleaning out its dirty laundry, so there will not be any to air publicly.  After that, we will be taken seriously when we speak of promoting meaningful change at the national level.

I am also taken aback by the need for Ms. Nestor to publicly issue congratulations for a “successful General Council.”  A General Council is a routine administrative forum of the party. So what is this big fuss about?

Back in the day, we congratulated ourselves for putting tens of thousands on the Square of the Revolution.
However, it now appears that we adjust the bar to meet declining capacity and performance. Soon we might have Ms. Nestor issuing public congratulations for successful meetings of the Central Executive Committee.

Julianne Gaul

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