david granger campaign newsletter, issue no. 3

8/7/2019 David Granger Campaign Newsletter, Issue No. 3

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The Peoples National Congress Reform electedBrigadier (ret) David Granger as the Partys Pres-idential Candidate to contest the 2011 general elec-tions. The historic Special Congress, which was heldon Saturday 26th February, concluded the six-month,country-wide, democratic selection process that in-volved the Partys entire membership.

Brigadier Granger pledged to work towards unify-

ing the Party and collaborating with party ofcials,members and other nominees to ensure that thePeoples Progressive Party Civic was removed fromofce at the forthcoming general elections. Grangerhad campaigned consistently on the platform of edu-cation, employment, economic development, privateenterprise and public security. He declared, in his ac-ceptance speech, that employing the process of go-ing to the people to elect persons to high ofces inthe party had become irreversible. He also took thetime to thank the Diaspora, Guyanese at home and

military veterans for their support.

Party Chairman Bishwaishwar Ramsaroop wel-comed delegates and observers to the Partys Spe-cial Congress held to elect the presidential candidatefor the general elections due this year. Ramsaroop,identifying four signicant features of the SpecialCongress, stated that it signalled the de facto start ofthe PNCR election campaign for 2011; marked a newdimension and manifestation of democracy withinthe Party; consummated a process which for the rsttime witnessed the election of a presidential candi-date other than the incumbent Leader of the Partyand, ushered in a new dynamic for the Party thatwould lead to the resumption of the reins of ofceand the formation of the next government of Guyana.

Party Leader Robert Corbin explained that discus-sions on developing a system of primaries for the

Mobilise!Newsletter of the Peoples National Congress Election CampaignMarch 2011

PNCR democratic election process praised

Presidential Candidate pledges to preserve party unity

Carl Greenidge congratulates David Granger

Earl John, Returning Ofcer, announces the results

Voting conditions for the Special Congress wereprescribed by the Congress Accreditation Com-mittee chaired by Central Executive CommitteeMember Clarissa Riehl which made special ar-rangements to ensure transparency of the process.Voting was supervised by the Returning OfcerEarl John of Sandra V. Jones Associates, who an-

nounced the nal results of the Elections.

identication of candidates to contest local gov-ernment, regional and general elections had com-menced more than thirty years ago.


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OAS delegation visits

Deputy Secretary General of the Organization ofAmerican States Albert Ramdin paid a courtesycall on the PNCR on Wednesday 9 th March 2011. TheParty took the opportunity to brief the OAS ofcial onthe malicious statements made by President BharratJagdeo at Babu John, Port Mourant during the PPPCsannual observance of the deaths of former PresidentsCheddi and Janet Jagan. The view was expressed thatsuch statements were provocative and could re-igniteracial conicts and promote social instability.

CPC Delegation visits

ACommunist Party of China delegation led byVice Minister, International Department of Cen-tral Committee of the Communist Party of China ChenFengxiang met representatives of the Peoples Na-tional Congress Reform on Wednesday 2nd March.The two sides shared perspectives of developments inChina and Guyana and reafrmed their committmentto the maintenance of good relations between the twoparties and between the two countries.

UNDP delegation visits

AUNDP Mission paid a courtesy call on the Peo-ples National Congress Reform on Thursday24th March 2011. The visiting UNDP Mission was inGuyana to undertake a pre-election assessment of theTechnical assistance needs of GECOM in its prepara-tions for the National and Regional elections which areconstitutionally due later this year. The PNCRs majorconcerns included the remaining obstacles facing citi-zens in being registered, particularly obtaining source

documents. The PNCR side noted that sufcient effortwas not being made by the PPPC administration to fa-cilitate citizens obtaining basic source documents sothat they could get their names on the Voters List.

The Party was concerned also about the radio mo-nopoly and political control of the State media by thePPP which continues to ignore demands to establisha National Broadcasting Authority. The PNCR alsohighlighted the misuse of the State Media for PPP pro-paganda as a dangerous development that would af-fect the smooth conduct of the forthcoming elections.

Guyana Islamic Trust delegation visits

AGuyana Islamic Trust high-level delegation

which included visiting scholars from Canadapaid a courtesy call on the Peoples National CongressReform. Party Leader Robert Corbin, General Secre-tary Oscar Clarke and Presidential Candidate Briga-dier (ret) David Granger comprised the PNCR teamThe visit was part of a programme to observe IslamicAwareness Week from Friday 4th March to Sunday 13th

March 2011 under the theme, Islam, the Divine Mod-el for society.

Facing the Future initiative

APNCR team led by General Secretary OscarClarke met a team of constitutional experts ledby Professor Yash Ghai, an eminent Kenyan-Asianconstitutional lawyer and former Chairman of the Ke-nya Constitutional Reform Commission, and includ-ing Dr Jill Cottrell and Dr Bertie Ramcharan on 23rd

March. The team visited Guyana at the invitation ofthe civic organizations sponsoring the Facing the Fu-ture initiative and held discussions on issues relatingto managing ethnicity in divided societies.

News Briefs

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Homage to PNCR pioneer Winifred Gaskin

PNCR Presidential Candidate David Granger haslauded the contribution of women to the Party andthe Nation on the occasion of International Wom-ens Day 2011. The theme of this years observancewas Equal access to education, training and sci-ence and technology; pathway to decent work forwomen.

Addressing the National Congress of Women onSaturday 12th March, Granger said that Guyananeeded to start a social revolution to overcome the

psychological trauma of the last decade. He not-ed that the disruption of the social matrix withinwhich afliative bonds are forged between parentand child, between siblings and among fellow menand women, and the eruption of hatred and vio-lence was bound to have serious consequences.He felt that bonds of kinship and friendship wereruptured; children became homeless, jobless or-phans and the tranquility of rural life was shatteredduring the Troubles over the last decade. It wouldhave been impossible for those who were exposed

to these events not to have suffered in some way.

Women challenged to start social revolution

How the PPPC underdeveloped the hinterland

Brigadier Granger challenged women to understandthe nature of the trauma and the pathology of disso-ciation that the nation suffered. He charged womenand mothers to make a fresh attempt to rebuild com-munities in which children of all races could grow up

without violence.

Addressing largely Amerindian audiences attown-hall meetings at Mabaruma and Let-hem earlier this year, David Granger accused thePeoples Progressive Party Civic administration ofunderdeveloping the hinterland. The majority ofindigenous people still live in the hinterland whichis also the source of the countrys mineral wealth

but their communities were underdeveloped andtheir children faced an uncertain future.

Granger admitted to being appalled at the state ofthe four main hinterland centres which administerthe huge regions which together comprise about 70per cent of the countrys landspace. The regions arethe 20, 339 km Barima-Waini; 47,213 km Cuyu-ni-Mazaruni; 20,052 km Potaro-Siparuni and57,790 km Rupununi Regions.

He called for the four main hinterland regional ad-ministrative centres Bartica, Mabaruma, Mahdiaand Lethem to be upgraded to municipality sta-tus. This he felt was a necessary rst step to ensur-ing that each centre could have its own mayor andtown council to administer its township efciently.

Main Street Mahdia after 18 years of PPPC Administration

Mobilise!


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Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Acknowledgment : Photographs are reprinted with the kind permission of the National Media and PublishingCompany Ltd. Mobilise! is published for the Peoples National Congress Reform Elections Campaign and is intended for free distribution.

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Campaign Journal

Mobilisation meetings : PNCR Presidential Can-

didate Brigadier (ret) David Granger has embarked

on a series of Mobilisation meetings across the

country. He took the opportunity to thank members

at all the meetings for their support for the presi-

dential candidate selection process, whether or not

they supported him.

Linden: At a Mobil-

isation meeting at the

Constabulary Hall,

Granger drew Linden-ers attention to the ed-

ucation crisis. Several

rural schools had to be

closed down by parents,

teachers, and students.

He promised that a new

PNCR administration

would make Guyana an Education Nation once

again one in which young people could become

better qualied and better employed.

New Amsterdam: At New Amsterdam in the

East Berbice-Corentyne Region, Granger thanked

Berbicians for the support of their delegates at the

Partys Special Congress. He told residents that his

top priorities were to preserve the Partys unity, to

persuade former members to rejoin the Party and

to convince persons of all ethnicities to support the

PNCR in the forthcoming elections. Granger also

promised to improve the scrutiny of the election

process in the Region in light of credible reports of

rigging during the 2006 elections.

Plaisance : At a Mobilisation meeting in Plai-

sance in the Demerara-Mahaica Region, Granger

appealed to villagers to mobilise for the forthcom-

ing elections. He urged them to ensure that they

collected their new national identication cards

and checked the preliminary voters lists during the

Claims and Objections period.

Lichfeld:At Licheld

in the Mahaica-Ber-

bice Region, Granger

told residents that,on 26th February, the

PNCR buried faction-

alism within its ranks.

It once again became a

united Party with one

aim which was to re-

move the PPPC from

ofce. Granger told Berbicians that, after 18years

in ofce, the PPPC administrations main legacy was

one of hopelessness.

Soesdyke: David Granger called on residents of the

Soesdyke-Linden Highway, the East Bank Demer-

ara corridor and Soesdyke Village to mobilise and

organise in readiness for the campaign for the forth-

coming general and regional elections. Speaking to

a packed Soesdyke Secondary School hall, Granger

explained how poorly equipped rural schools had

contributed to degrading the educational system

and had produced large numbers of dropouts. This

had a direct impact on joblessness because it had

become increasingly difcult for many school-leav-

ers to nd gainful unemployment. The result was

a growing sense of normlessness and hopelessness

among rural youth.

G e o r g e t o w n :

Speaking at a Mo-

bilisation meeting

in Lodge, Granger

explained that the

PNCR was ghting

for all Guyanese.

He told the resi-dents of George-

town that Guyanese

continued to experience widespread unemployment

among young people and pointed out that the chil-

dren of Guyana were living in a dangerous society

which was a legacy of the PPPC administration. He

promised to create a better life for all.

Mobilise!

david granger campaign newsletter, issue no. 3

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