Dear Editor,
It is encouraging at last, to see some progress being made in the PNCR presidential candidate selection process, with the nomination of retired Brigadier David Granger. With Winston Murray also in the running for this position, the PNCR General Council will have to determine the priorities of the Guyanese people and the nation as a whole, in the battle of the economy v crime.
There can be no doubt that both David Granger and Winston Murray possess very impressive credentials – both very credible, one military, one economic, as highlighted below:
David Granger was educated at Queen’s College. He joined the GDF in 1965 and quickly moved up the ranks. He received his professional military training at the Army Command and Staff College in Nigeria; the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil; and the School of Infantry and the Mons Officer Cadet School, respectively, in the United Kingdom. He was the planning officer for the establishment of the Guyana National Service and the Guyana People’s Militia. He led military delegations to Brazil, Cuba, Germany, Guinea, Korea, Somalia and Yugoslavia. David Granger graduated with the Master of Social Sciences Degree in Political Science, and the Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from the University of Guyana; and the postgraduate diploma in International Relations from the University of the West Indies. He attended a Counterterrorism Educators’ Workshop in the United States. David Granger is a former member of the Disciplined Forces Commission; Co-Chairman of the Border and National Security Committee; Member of the National Security Strategy Planning Committee; Chairman of the Central Intelligence Committee; Member of the National Drug Law Enforcement Committee; and Member of the Guyana Defence Board. He received the Military Service Star; Military Service Medal; Efficiency Medal; Border Defence Medal; and other service awards. (Source: Guyana Defence Force).
Winston Murray attended the London School of Economics, London University BSc (Hons) Econs; the Institute of International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC where he obtained a Certificate in Public Finance; and the University of Guyana where he obtained his LLB with credit. He then attended the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago where he obtained his Legal Education Certificate in 2000. From 1970 to 1972 he served as an economist in the Ministry of Trade. For the following two years he held the position of Second Secretary, Guyana Embassy, Brussels, Belgium. From 1974 to 1979, Murray was a Senior Economist/Deputy Secretary to the Treasury in the Ministry of Finance. Murray was also the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry from 1979 to1983. In 1983 he served as Head of the Department of International Economic Co-operation at Office of the President. Murray was Guyana’s Head of the Presidential Secretariat in 1985 and from that time to when the PNCR lost office, Murray served as Senior Minister/Deputy Prime Minister – Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry. He is a parliamentarian, and has been serving in that capacity since 1985.
Over the years, Murray has had many accomplishments as a negotiator, including a barter deal exchanging bauxite for TU 154 aircraft with the USSR; agreements with Japan for electricity generating facilities on the West Bank of Demerara and Garden of Eden; acquisition of Universal tractors from Romania; Investment Promotion and Protection Treaty with Korea; and double taxation agreement with Canada. He also served as Guyana’s principal spokesman and negotiator on Caricom affairs, negotiated the Common External Tariff for such critical items as rice, sugar, wood and wood products as well as handled the harmonisation of fiscal incentives and industrial planning within Caricom. In the Ministry of Trade, Murray was responsible for devising and overseeing a system for determining the foreign exchange requirements for importers, on the basis of which import licences were granted. In the case of the People’s Republic of China, Murray prepared the report for Cabinet on an economic mission from that country and identified the specific projects which Guyana should pursue for economic cooperation. Cabinet adopted that report in its entirety.
He was also seconded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1971 and 1972 to serve on the Guyana delegation to the United Nations, New York and served on the 5th Committee of the UN and articulated Guyana’s position on the UN budget as well as on proposals for the reorganisation of some departments.
Murray has also served as Guyana’s Alternate Governor to the IMF, IBRD, IDB and CDB. He performed the functions of President of Guyana on two separate occasions and was among other achievements awarded Guyana’s Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) in 1984. (Source: Kaieteur News)
Although crime is a major concern, it is absolutely imperative that the next President of Guyana has the ability and experience to lead from day one. With the economy in such decline, there is simply no time for ‘on the job training.’ The number one priority of the next administration, must be to stop the bleeding of the economy; to responsibly cut taxes and restrictions that would give small businesses the incentives necessary to fuel the economy; to create good paying jobs, and to provide all workers with a realistic livable income. Reducing crime is also a major priority which must be pursued, but it’s like putting the cart before the horse; for as long as unemployment remains at an estimated 30-35%, where graduating students cannot get jobs and workers are grossly underpaid, there will always be desperate people willing to risk breaking the law to go after easy money. Guyana needs vision and experience to restore the economy and our leadership role in the region, not to become a police state. Retired Brigadier David Granger would be a tremendous asset to the next administration, but not as executive president.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Gill
