Rift in PNCR over Vanessa Kissoon deepens

- Linden committee says prepared to raise matter at Congress

Linden PNCR members are threatening to take their concerns over the suspension of Vanessa Kissoon to the floor of the party’s delegates’ conference this weekend, signalling a further deepening of divisions.

Yesterday, the Linden PNCR committee held a press conference at the Critchlow Labour College and reiterated its position that Kissoon had been improperly suspended by PNCR Leader David Granger and as such she was advised not to appear today before a disciplinary committee which was set up to investigate an altercation she had with party General Secretary Oscar Clarke.

The continuing contretemps over Kissoon’s suspension from the party threatens to mar what should be an occasion for a full show of unity at this weekend’s Biennial Delegates Congress.

The disciplinary committee is supposed to commence its investigation today but without a representative from Region 10. The Linden PNCR members called for a disbanding of the committee. Representative of the PNCR’s Region 10 committee Leslie Gonsalves stated that it is usually the function of the Central Executive Committee of the party to appoint a disciplinary committee at Congress and that there has been no committee in place since Granger took over the leadership of the party two years ago.

Gonsalves said that “what is clear here is Mr Granger has …appointed an ad hoc committee, not one consistent with the Party rules.”

Among the five persons selected by Granger to be on the committee is Allan Monroe who is to act as the Chairman and who according to Gonsalves is also Granger’s neighbour. Gonsalves continued that Lance Carberry is the political advisor to the PNCR leader while Malika Ramsey, MP Chris Jones and Cheryl Sampson are employees of Congress Place. “All these persons are members of the Central Executive Committee and have voted supporting the leader’s decision to suspend Ms Kissoon,” Gonsalves noted.

He ventured that the act of supporting Granger’s decision “disqualifies all of the named persons to be impartial arbiters in this affair.”

The Region 10 members stated that Granger and his allies were mixing up their roles and were disregarding the party rules. As a result, they said, Kissoon would not be given a fair hearing and as things stood Kissoon has already been found guilty.

Gonsalves added that the region had been lobbying for two representatives on the disciplinary committee.

However when questioned by the media if that did not signal bias on the other side of the coin, Gonsalves replied that the region was concerned with the party adhering to the rules of conduct.

The names supplied by Region 10 for the committee were those of Gonsalves, the region’s vice chairman, Maurice Butters and head of the women’s arm, Lotoya Williams.

Williams expressed her support for Kissoon stating that the women’s arm was standing in solidarity with her. Williams argued that the party wanted support in denouncing the appointment of the government’s town clerk, Carol Sooba, however the PNCR was doing the same by “imposing” Coordinator Sandra Adams on the region.

excerpts from the Stabroeknews