Former Alliance For Change (AFC) leader Raphael Trotman is resigning from the National Assembly.
In a statement, the party said Trotman, who leaves the parliament next week, made the decision in keeping with a previous commitment to resign mid-term to allow for “rotation and space for new leadership training.”
In a press release issued this afternoon, the AFC said Trotman had indicated before the staging of the party’s recent National Conference that he would not be available for nomination as he would be resigning mid-term in the life of the present Assembly, in keeping with a commitment made in August 2020.
“The AFC is proud of the work that Raphael provided over the years as a valuable member of our team and a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly,” the party said, while noting that he has served as a Member of the National Assembly continuously from 1998 to present.
It noted that during that time he served as the 10th Speaker of the National Assembly, and served on many Standing and Select Committees including those on Constitution Reform, Security, Foreign Affairs and Natural Resources, and contributed to the passage of scores of critical pieces of legislation. He also led several parliamentary delegations to international conferences and meetings in the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Peru, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Barbados, Mexico, and New Zealand, among others, it added.
The party said although Trotman is leaving the National Assembly, he will remain a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the AFC and continue to provide counsel to the leadership of the AFC on a range of national and regional developments. “He will also continue to render his expert counsel on the nascent oil production sector,” it added.
During the tenure of the former APNU+AFC government, Trotman served as Minister of Governance and then as Minister of Natural Resources and faced much criticism over his role in the renegotiation of the much maligned production sharing agreement between Guyana and ExxonMobil and its partners.
