Norton calls for unity in PNCR
Dec 23, 2022 --- Source --- https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...s-for-unity-in-pncr/
Kaieteur News – Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Aubrey Norton said like his predecessors he will continue to give leadership to his party and assured members that despite the current setbacks “we will come through this difficult period…”
Norton at the time was speaking at a memorial service for Guyana’s Former President and Party Leader, the Late Hugh Desmond Hoyte. The ceremony was held at Hoyte’s burial site, the Place of the Seven Ponds, in the Botanical Gardens.
Leader of the PNCR, Aubrey Norton
Norton’s leadership has been called into question in recent times, with many predicting that he would be ousted at the party’s next congress. However, in a speech that heaped praise on Hoyte’s leadership of Guyana, Norton sought to shore his own saying, ”Like Mr. Burnham and Mr. Hoyte, like Cde. Corbin and Cde. Granger, like our Elders Cde. Hamilton Green, Oscar Clarke, Jeffrey Thomas, Rashleigh Jackson and others, I have every confidence in the supporters of the Party and the people of Guyana, of which I am the Leader. We will come through this difficult period and guarantee the success and equitable development of our nation. That must be our focus. That is why I have not hesitated to walk among our people and to be with them in this hour of need.”
Norton said, “I believe as Leader of the Party, that all our Party Comrades in every region must find themselves amidst our people. It is good now and it will be good for government. I have heard as I move around the complaints of discrimination and I have seen the levels of poverty in our society. I have no doubt that this is an urgent social problem. Yet the PPP is making no effort to deal with it, even as the World Bank has warned that poverty in Guyana is as high as 49%. This is clearly unacceptable. The resources are available and my Party will insist that the current administration do something about this situation as we proposed to them comprehensive policies and programmes to deal with poverty. A Government under the APNU+AFC will ensure the resources of this country benefit the people of Guyana.”
Norton who is also Leader of the Opposition, said it is a source of great concern to the PNCR that the PPP seems more intent in building mega projects rather than attending to the basic needs of our people. “This is callous as well as cynical. For everyone knows that these projects enable the PPP to fund itself and enrich their elites. Yet for all the difficulties we face, I am very hopeful for the future of Guyana. I have seen how Mr. Hoyte was able to ride out the difficulties in the pre-1998 period and I am persuaded that the PNC/R, with the support of its constituents, will remain a formidable force and will no doubt beat the People’s Progressive Party in the next elections. And we intend to do this with a viable coalition.”
He told the gathering that when he became Leader of this Party, he had called for unity. “I make this call again this morning. The Party has to be united as we seek to resist the efforts of the PPP to control and dominate our society. We have to be focused on building a better unified Guyana. We need not fear as our Party has gone through many difficult periods as I have already described. We have survived, we have progressed, and we have prospered. I have no doubt that we will do so again. I am convinced that the PNCR as a Government was inclusive and a Government in the future with the Coalition will be inclusive. I am satisfied we have the intellectual and other capacity to do it. I am satisfied that we are competent but most importantly, I am satisfied that as a Party, we are resilient. I am satisfied that we governed fairly when we were in Government and we operated based on the Rule of Law. And I believe that this is the recipe for success; this is the legacy left to us by Hugh Desmond Hoyte. Today we celebrate his life twenty years since his passing and we are indeed thankful for the ideas and activities of Hugh Desmond Hoyte that would have resulted in us becoming the formidable force we are in this country.”
