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Jul 31, 2012 Letters
Dear Editor,
I felt very proud being a young activist of the PPP, then PNC from 1952-53 when, at 1:27am on the morning of Monday July 30th 2012, the returning officers of our Annual Congress confirmed my tally of the votes for Leader, that David Granger had 510 votes and Mr. Carl Greenidge 177. Later, Granger was declared the new Leader of the PNC/R.
It took all day of Sunday to reach this high point and many of us delegates did not leave the Hall of Heroes until near 3:00am.
I don’t know anywhere in the Commonwealth where a Political Party with such resilience clung tenaciously to the pristine qualities of an authentic democratic institution.
As a member of the executive, I am aware that every concern expressed by skeptics within and without was addressed satisfactorily, even though at times, it was painfully tedious and time consuming for that reason. All PNC cadres, including youth and women, and indeed all Guyana, should be proud of this truly open and transparent process of electing its Leader.
Whether you are a cynic or a critic, give credit to Mr. Robert H.O. Corbin for his magnanimity and skillful steering of the ship up to this weekend.
At this time, the Party within APNU with AFC, the wider society of religious, business, youth and the independent media, should concentrate over the next period on:
First, dismantling the State’s iron clad control of our only radio station.
Second, allowing all TV Stations coverage of the entire country.
Thirdly, all State and parastatal entities must be required to share equally their paid public advertisements with the Stabroek News, the Kaieteur News and independent television. This should be complemented by an intense information/education programme for our young people who, thanks to all of us, have been disconnected from our history and knowledge of elementary factors that make up Guyana, rendering them therefore unable to interpret events unfolding daily before their eyes.
No civilization can advance safely without knowing all of its past, thus benefiting from the experiences, mistakes and triumphs of their predecessors.
Next, the Party must lead a crusade for the moral and spiritual upliftment of the nation in order to remove from our country this present debilitating greed, corruption and disregard for life.
Finally, this new team must ensure that a pivotal ingredient for good governance and a stable society is a viable, that is, modern local government system, which will allow young and old to release their creative energies for the benefits of their respective communities.
Even if it means more of the type of demonstrations we see at Linden, let it be done to halt this evil colossus from suffocating those local government entities, NDCs, and municipalities that did not support the PPP. These Local Government organizations must be allowed to exhale, and in that way, bring our imperial overlords to their senses. So let Guyana under the leadership of the PNC/R really enjoy a return to democracy.
Of course, as is expected, the State media – up to their usual mischief and disinformation – suggested that there was a recount and other concerns, and screamed on the front page “claims of malpractice delay PNCR election results.”
I was present throughout, this is yet another stain on the Chronicle and its journalistic junk that citizens are subjected to by the State media, and they should be ashamed and offer this nation an apology.
How can 510 against 177 be a close contest?
I may add this caveat, I do not have the time to read the Chronicle, but a friend drew the article to my attention while I was preparing this letter.
Hamilton Green, J.P.
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