David Granger’s desperate bid to reassert himself as PNCR leader

THE following is a statement issued yesterday by the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) detailing PNCR’s David Granger’s fall from grace, and his desperate bid to save face and retain his position as leader just days shy of what can be regarded as a watershed moment in his short-lived reign as a politician when the Party he heads holds its 17th Biennial Congress.

“David Granger is facing an uphill task to regain the leadership and confidence of the PNC at the upcoming PNC Congress, scheduled for July 25 -27, 2014.
“Granger has failed miserably to unite and strengthen the Party, which is currently undergoing serious trauma in terms of its organisational health.
“What Granger has succeeded in doing, with a fair measure of success, is to sideline the Party faithfuls, and instead catapult to the leadership people with a military background, including many who have never been involved politically.
“Granger is probably the most ineffective and uninspiring of all PNC leaders. His leadership style has only served to alienate a significant number of Party members and supporters.
“With the Congress only a few days away, Granger is desperately seeking to retain the unchallenged leadership of the PNC, but with so much of failure and so little charisma and appeal, his chances of retaining the leadership of the Party is far from secure.
“This is not difficult to understand, especially from Party insiders and loyalists who see him as a political novice, and as an “armchair general” whose leadership style seems to be one of leading from behind.
“Not surprisingly, there are now emerging several aspirants from within the Party who are openly challenging him for the leadership of the Party, the most recent of whom is Region Ten Chairman, Mr. Solomon Sharma, who is no doubt seeking to take maximum advantage of the on-going rift between the Granger-backed Congress Place and core PNC supporters over the Vanessa Kisson fiasco.
“PNC strongman, Aubrey Norton, who was sidelined for the post of MP, even though he was very instrumental in getting out the Linden votes, is also in the race for Party Leader.
“It should be recalled that at the last PNC Congress, Granger narrowly defeated Carl Greenidge, and only after he secured the endorsement of former PNC leader, Robert Corbin, who openly campaigned on his behalf, which was further aided and abetted by allegations of vote rigging and influence peddling. Allegations of vote rigging at the upcoming PNC Congress have already surfaced from credible sources.
“Criticism of the Granger leadership style is not limited to Party insiders. Henry Jeffrey, in his Future Notes Column (Wednesday, July 2, 2014), questioned the sincerity of Granger in his call for a government of national unity should his Party gain power in the next general election. In this regard, Jeffrey wrote:
‘For my part, the PNC and the whole tribe of politicians can swear on the entire stack of sacred religious texts in Guyana and by all that is dear to them and I would not willingly put my life in their hands.’
“And the Conversation Tree columnist castigated Granger for refusing to apologise for past crimes against the PPP, and more generally the people of Guyana. In his column, “The PNCR: Its past and future” (Stabroek News, June 22, 2014), he wrote:
‘Mr. Granger repeated a long established PNCR policy, designed to deflect public pressure that there would be no blanket apology on the basis of hearsay or conjecture as if rigged elections fall in those categories.’
“He went on to say that ‘the PNCR knows that such alliances are dead in the water without addressing its political past. Political allies will not risk being wiped out by an alliance that carries more baggage than benefit.’
“And the Stabroek News, in its Editorial of June 22, 2014, took Granger to task for his insistence that allegations of rigging of elections by the PNC should be investigated, describing the statements as ‘disingenuous in the extreme.’ What has emerged over the years, including from reputable overseas teams and British Granada TV programmes — never mind the PPP’s own records which were diligently assembled — brooks no doubt.
“It is clear that apart from a leadership deficit Granger is also faced with a credibility problem which continues to cast a dark shadow over his continuing ability to lead the party and by extension the combined political Opposition.
“A Stabroek News article (Wednesday July 2, 2014) captioned PNC members question ‘preferential’ treatment for Party General Secretary in wake of Vanessa Kissoon suspension are only surface manifestations of a much more deep-seated organisational and structural problem which potentially could undermine the base of the PNC as is currently playing out in Linden where members are calling for fairness in the dispensation of disciplinary action.
“Former Executive Member of the PNC and Minister under the former PNC regime, Dr. Faith Harding puts it quite bluntly when she said that the objectives being pursued by the Party at the moment were not in the interests of Guyana’s overall development.(Guyana Times, June 21, 2014)
“She said that the PNC under Granger has lost its way because of the pursuits and ideologies of its current crop of leaders and further indicated that she would decline any attempt at reconciliation with the Party given the current group that is managing the Party.
“And social commentator, Christopher Ram also weighed in on the issue by commenting unfavourably on Granger’s leadership capacity.
“In addition to his manifest lack of leadership qualities and the credibility issue, there is the added problem of his advancing age which would put him well into the biblical ‘three scores and ten’ age group by the time of the next election should he be retained.
“Granger stands exposed and is going into a Congress like a king in his new clothes. His refusal to appear before the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry speaks volumes about his inability to come to terms with the past despite his own admission that the PNC may have killed people and rigged elections.
“The PNC, at its upcoming Congress, should consider dumping Granger from its leadership since he has proven himself a non-stellar performer and a failed leader.”

extracted from the Guyana Chronicle