Party could still mount successful challenge to PPP/C

May 10, 2009 News

A former People’s National Congress Central Executive Member, Donald Ainsworth, believes that there is enough scope for the party to mount a successful challenge to the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic at the next general elections.

Donald Ainsworth

Ainsworth, who recently renewed his membership in the party, believes that despite the party losing ground over the past few years, it can still be returned to Government once a certain approach is taken.

In an exclusive interview with the Kaieteur News he said that elections are about numbers and if an analysis were done it would reveal that the ruling PPP/C won the last poll with 37 percent of the registered voters of the country.

This, he said, means that 63 percent of the electorate did not vote for the PPP for various reasons.

“So you have enough space to operate and to mount a serious challenge. Also, when you look at some of the difficulties that people are facing, the level of incompetence, the corruption, if you were to try to raise the consciousness of the people and get them to understand the issues and the reality, you can move away from this perception of ethnic voting,” Ainsworth reasoned.

He added that the society with more than 60 per cent of persons below the age of 25 years, one would see that most of them have suffered from what he described as the incompetence of the present administration.

“I’m sure that once you have the correct message, they will be willing to listen to you and be part of a process that will improve the quality of their lives.”

Ainsworth is of the view that since information and knowledge are critical to the advancement of any institution in today’s environment, the party has to be able to function in a way that it can be relevant also to today’s activities.

He posited that if the party is going to make an impact and help solve the problems of the people of Guyana, the PNCR has to meet with them in a very active and personal manner.

“I think the dinosaurs became extinct because they did not adjust to the environment and unless the party can begin to see itself as a real people-oriented party, that is, not only in words but in deeds, it will not be relevant. What I see today are a few press conferences, a press release now and then. But there is no grassroot work being done.

“You go to any community and people will tell you that they haven’t seen or heard from a member of the PNC in ages,” Ainsworth pointed out. Ainsworth is certainly no ‘Johnny come lately’ seeking to exploit the current divisions in the party.

After leaving Guyana, he still maintained his

connections with the party as a member of its Washington DC group.

However, he disclosed that he had some issues with how the process within the party, with regards to mounting a challenge to the ruling PPP/C, was being managed.

“When time is not a free commodity I decided that I could not waste my time in dealing with the games that were being played at a certain point in time. So I decided, I’m gonna leave this thing alone for a while and when I make up my mind to come back home, I’ll probably get involved,” Ainsworth said.

Many believe that there is a rift within the main opposition party following the last biennial congress when several members, labeled Team Alexander, were reportedly marginalised.

Prior to that, leading members, Raphael Trotman, who now heads the Alliance for Change and Sherwood Lowe resigned their central executive roles.

Addressing the issue of a rift, Ainsworth said that it ought not to be, because if the PNCR is a truly democratic entity, its members should be able to debate and ventilate issues, and allow the membership to decide who they would like to be in charge of the policy making aspects.

As with every political party, financing plays a vital role in sustaining its work especially in the run-up to competing in general elections.

Ainsworth, who currently resides in the United States of America, believes that every member should pay his share in footing the bill.

He said that party members in the Diaspora have been actively participating in the process and some have actually made a commitment to make a certain number of contributions on a monthly basis.