Govt praise led to Murray’s resignation

Jan 24, 2009 News

The main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) yesterday admitted that it was the praise the Government heaped upon its Chairman, Winston Murray, that was the cause of the quarrel which eventually led Murray to resign from his key position within the party.

Winston Murray

Party leader Robert Corbin yesterday said the Government was attempting to misuse Murray’s position on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which Caribbean countries were going to sign with Europe, and so it sought to stop that from happening.

Murray resigned as party chairman on January 15 last, saying his position on the EPA was abandoned by his party, and he could no longer continue to serve as chairman with any credibility.

President Bharrat Jagdeo had commended the PNCR for “the strong, firm and positive position” on the EPA. That was the position Murray put forward at a national consultation held in September of last year before the signing of the EPA.

Murray had essentially supported President Bharrat Jagdeo’s position that the EPA was a bad deal for Guyana.

“We do not see the reality as a fair agreement between the EU and CARIFORUM countries, and it has always been understood, given the levels of development, that these agreements would be contentious. They should be without injury and send us into development of our people.

“If an impact assessment was to be conducted, I do not think that we have enough information on the cost and the impact this will have on our countries. . . . I think that we need time to scrutinise this agreement, and also, it serves as a wake-up call for the Caribbean and Caricom in terms of where its development is going,” Murray had stated.

However, the PNCR dropped Murray’s position and called on the Government to join the other countries of the Caribbean Community in signing the EPA.

Corbin yesterday explained that the party took that position because the Government was attempting to use what Murray said to construct the idea that the party was in total agreement with Jagdeo’s position. He said this was not a deliberate attempt to embarrass Murray or to challenge his views.

Corbin was out of the country at the time of the consultations, and so Murray was speaking in the capacity of leader of the party.

Murray’s resignation as chairman marked a further rift in the leadership of the PNCR. He is the highest ranking member of the party to have taken such drastic action over disagreements with the party hierarchy.

He remains a member of the PNCR, and will continue to sit as a Member of Parliament for the party. He has also agreed to be a key member of a special task force set up to redefine a strategic plan for the future of the PNCR, and to reposition the party before 2011, as directed by the 14th Biennial Congress.

The party thanked Murray for “the tremendous contribution he has made over the years as Chairman.”

Murray’s resignation as chairman sparked renewed controversy over Corbin’s leadership of the party.