Dear Editor,
Over the past few days and primarily at the weekend I was inundated with calls from Guyanese around the world (no exaggeration) and many at home. I remind people that these discussions and views I proffer are exclusively mine and in no way reflect that of the PNCR or its Leader. I made that clear in all the conversations I engaged in the past few days.
In all of those conversations with people in the diaspora and on the ground in Guyana, I felt a sort of impatience coming from them in relation to Aubrey C Norton assuming the role of Leader of the Opposition. In fact, many are angry this is not the case as yet and feel that should the situation not be speedily rectified, our supporters will sink into dormancy and become disinterested in what is being passed off for party politics with some in the hierarchy who have clearly outlived their usefulness.
I was told that the people are fired up and ready to stand firmly behind Norton as Leader of the Opposition and with the leadership of the PNCR. I was told that no one cares about any talks with Harmon and Granger to iron out the way forward for the Coalition. I was told that there isn’t really any coalition functioning at the moment and that the PNCR made decisions without the input of the coalition, as a matter of course in the past.
A very wealthy and affluent woman from the USA told me that what is happening currently in the party is slowing down momentum and quelling a fire needed to bring the PPP government to its senses almost immediately. People feel that what Harmon and Granger are doing is beneficial to the PPP’s agenda, today.
People at home and abroad are hurt at the slow pace of having the right leader in Parliament that would effectively represent the opposition. I made it clear that the Leader of the PNCR is a disciplined man. He loves the party and all through the ups and downs he faced, he respected the decisions of the leadership and even though those decisions made him worse off in the party, he continued to serve with humility. He never walked away because he loves the PNCR.
Today, Norton is Leader of the PNCR and those in the party must now act accordingly and accept with humility his right, a right given by the votes he obtained in a landslide victory, to carry the full mandate of the PNCR. Had the people (our members and supporters) had to vote the same way for the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the List it would have most certainly been a landslide victory again. Norton must now remember that the people are depending on him and his team to lead us into a successful election that will defeat the PPP. They are depending on his stewardship as Leader of the Opposition today and not sometime later to begin the struggle to bring the government in line and halt the madness in Guyana.
Nobody wants Harmon anywhere near the party anymore and Mr Norton must understand that whatever happens to the PNC now would be seen as his responsibility; failure or success. He must no longer be bullied by this sordid grandstanding of leaders who the people have lost all confidence in and want nothing to do with. His time would be better utilised among the people demanding that the deadweight in the party go and respect the wishes of the real PNC which is the people that placed him at the helm. How he handles this situation in the party will be seen as a reflection of how he will handle the national struggle. He must not be bullied by either because he is expected to be the answer to bullies and save Guyana.
Those I have spoken to are saying let us give it another week and take to the streets in the diaspora and in Guyana to have a new and capable opposition leader. The supporters and members will not accept less. There is nothing like the dawn of a half era. It is the dawn of a new era or not.
Yours faithfully,
Norman Browne
Political Activist
