Corbin not running for Presidency in 2011 – PNCR

Mar 30, 2010 News

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Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Robert Corbin, has announced that he will not be contesting the Guyana Presidency in next year’s General Elections.
Speaking at the first General Council meeting of the PNCR for this year and which concluded on Saturday, Corbin acknowledged that a major challenge that will face the PNCR will be finding a new candidate that will attract the confidence of Guyanese.
A statement from the party yesterday, said that the PNCR leader felt that the process to find a Presidential candidate would have to stimulate “all to work together and recognise that it was necessary to demonstrate, by hard work and example, that they were capable of undertaking the onerous responsibilities ahead.”
Corbin stressed that unity would be “paramount if the PPP/C is to be removed from Office and a new Government of Guyana is to replace it, whether such a Government is led by the PNCR alone, or, in collaboration with other Opposition Parties and like-minded organisations, preferably, under a Shared Governance arrangement.”
Corbin, speaking at the Sophia headquarters, warned the General Council that others are unlikely to be attracted to the PNCR or to work with the party unless it remains united and strong. “General Council members were, accordingly, tasked by the Party Leader to be unrelenting, by hard work and good example, for success in 2011.”
According to the PNCR, its party members, in high spirits, determined that Local Government Reform must be implemented before Local Government Elections are held and the party is “fully motivated to bring an end to the reign of human rights abuses, discrimination, corruption and poverty being unleashed upon the people of Guyana by the PPP/C Regime. The meeting resolved that this reign must be ended no later than 2011.”
The General Council, which is the highest forum of the Party after Congress, was presided over by Party Chairman, Bishwaishwar (Cammie) Ramsaroop, with several hundred participants from all ten Regions, the release said.
Special invitees to the General Council included prospective candidates and campaign organisers from the 65 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and the six Municipalities.
The Chairman stressed that there are major issues affecting all Guyanese at this time.
“At the very top of the list, were the problems arising from bad governance and he identified the many disastrous consequences, which have resulted. Among these are widespread corruption in government; failure by the Administration to establish the constitutionally mandated Public Procurement Commission; widespread mismanagement; incompetence; illegal spending and the abuse of financial rules and regulations; and, blatant manipulation of the Judiciary.”
Reviewing the state of the economy, the Party Chairman reminded of the growth rate of seven per cent, which the PPP inherited from the Hoyte Administration upon its assumption to office, as contrasted to the present Government’s admitted growth rate of between zero per cent and two per cent over the past years.
“Notwithstanding Government’s figures of alleged growth, however, he pointed out that the World Bank statistics and indicators from other reputable institutions show that the government’s statistics are highly exaggerated.”
Ramsaroop also touched on the poor performance of the sugar and bauxite sectors and the prospect of low production in the rice sector this year, given the present El Niño conditions.
Referring to the upcoming Local Government and National Elections, he urged members of the General Council to remain on high alert and, in a state of preparedness, to deal with whatever eventuality the future holds.
“There is no substitute for hard work,” he emphasised as he reminded General Council of some of the achievements of the PNC in government:
“A PNCR government, after 2011, is a sine qua non” he concluded.
Corbin, during his address to General Council, explained in great detail the party’s long held position on Local Government elections and the need for full implementation of the constitutionally mandated reforms prior to the holding of the elections.
He called on the Party members to unite in order to direct all their energies toward ridding the country of the corrupt and incompetent PPP regime, which is “shamelessly discriminating against non-PPP supporters and communities.”
A panel discussion and Workshops on Local Government Reform followed the two lead presentations.
According to the party, these included discussions on Local Government Reform, Local Government Elections and Effective Campaigning. Panelists included, Party Vice Chairman, Basil Williams, MP; Alan Munroe, Director of Education and Co co-ordinator of the Central Local Government Elections Committee; and Amna Ally, Assistant General Secretary.
The General Council concluded after approving the Party’s programme for the period ahead, including, a schedule of outreach meetings across the country to brief citizens on the issues of Local Government Reform and Local Government Elections.
The General Council meets every three months.

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