…recommits to strong, successful coalition
THE Executive Council of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) met on Saturday when it recommitted itself to forging stronger ties as a coalition grouping, as it sets its eyes on re-election in 2020.
The meeting on Saturday had come following complaints by the Working People’s Alliance over the reassignment of Dr Rupert Roopnaraine from Minister of Education to Minister of the Public Service. In a statement issued following their meeting, APNU, the larger grouping in the coalition government, said its Chairman, President David Granger in his opening remarks, emphasized the importance of keeping the partnership strong. “The chairman referred the members to the Statement of Principles that guided the formation and the vision of the APNU,” the coalition said. At the meeting, the Executive examined a report which was commissioned by the chairman of APNU. According to the statement, the report presented the views, emanating from consultations with each of the parties, on the future development of the APNU. Each member-party was invited to comment on its details and agreed that the report faithfully reflected their views.
The Executive also discussed strategic issues relevant for the future of the partnership and the coalition. The meeting also discussed matters of concern raised by the executive of the WPA; Amerindian land- titling; the upcoming 2018 Local Government Elections, the frequency of Executive meetings and other critical issues.
The current and future policy positions and requirements for the APNU to satisfy the developmental needs of Guyana were considered by the Executive, the release stated, adding that the chairman proposed that for the future functioning of APNU’s Executive, its detailed activities should be dealt with by the formation of five commissions, which would be responsible for, Administration, Communities, Education, Elections and Finance.
“Members of the Executive agreed that there should be greater frequency of meetings, since the value of such an approach was illustrated by the success of today’s Executive Committee meeting. The meeting was conducted in a fraternal manner, but representatives from the parties engaged in a frank exchange of ideas and concerns about the strengths and shortcomings of the APNU. The meeting committed the APNU to a speedy and amicable resolution of the concerns raised and the parties recommitted themselves to the continued success of the coalition government and its re-election in 2020.” The APNU Executive Council is made up of five political parties, the Guyana Action Party (GAP), the Justice For All Party (JFAP), the National Front Alliance (NFA), the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA); all parties were represented at the meeting.
At a meeting in June with the WPA, President Granger had reportedly stressed the need for the government to continue improving its performance, as he expressed concern over some issues, including the coalition’s showing at the March 2016, Local Government Elections (LGE).
Sources had told this newspaper that during the meeting with the executive of the WPA, the head of state spoke also about the state of education in the country, and the relationship between party representatives in Cabinet and their parties, among other issues. The coalition’s performance at the 2016 LGE and its future performance was raised in a broad discourse during the meeting with the WPA. The Guyana Chronicle was told too that the President was concerned about information not being filtered to the executives of parties that form the coalition government.