Rohee warns about “fifth columnists” in APNU’s camp

- says Greenidge seems “very indisciplined”

By Abena Rockcliffe
Recently, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee has been paying a special

PPP General Secretary, Clement Rohee

interest in the affairs of the two parliamentary opposition parties to the extent that it seems as if he is watching their proverbial ‘backs’.
The politician had predicted a “major political fallout” between the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) over the No-Confidence Motion which the AFC tabled against the government. The General Secretary had warned the AFC to be on the watch for this fallout which he said would have come when APNU opts not to vote in favour of the Motion. However, that prediction has, so far, proven to be somewhat inaccurate as the two political bodies recently concretized the decision to stand as one against the government for the successful passage of the historical Motion.
But now Rohee has switched from warning the AFC to warning the APNU. The politician now warns APNU Leader, David Granger, to be on the lookout for “fifth columnists” in his camp. (A fifth columnist is generally referred to as a member of an organisation who tries to help an enemy invade or generally acts in opposition to the best interest of the organization.)
The General Secretary said he came to this conclusion after he read about the views expressed by APNU Shadow Minster of Finance, Carl Greenidge on Granger’s choice to meet with President Donald Ramotar to discuss issues surrounding the stall in the holding of Local Government Elections.
Granger had told Kaieteur News that despite a date not being set, he is still open to talks with the President over Local Government Elections.
However, this position of Granger’s is apparently not in harmony with Greenidge’s views on the matter.  Greenidge is contending that when one considers the promises made and broken by the government when it comes to elections, there is nothing left to discuss.
Greenidge told Kaieteur News that nothing at all associated with the call for Local Government Elections needs to be discussed between APNU and the PPP.
He said, “Any discussion needs to be undertaken with the Opposition as a whole and should be on the implementation of the changes in general electoral arrangements recommended by the Electoral Reform Commission.”

APNU Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge

Granger had written to President Donald Ramotar giving an ultimatum to set a date for Local Government Elections but this was not met. Several protests around the country were subsequently held by APNU.
While the Opposition Leader is still committed to meeting with the President, Greenidge disclosed that the Shadow Cabinet has not discussed or agreed to this or any new approach to the PPP regarding elections.
Greenidge had expressed that Granger’s letter was intended not so much to tell the President what he is obliged to do but to notify him that the Opposition will exercise its right to pressure the government to carry out its obligations under the Constitution.
“When we last discussed the matter of talks with Granger, all speakers were at pains to remind him of the untrustworthiness of the PPP and also of the fact that none of the previous agreements with his predecessors were honoured,” said Greenidge.
He lamented that promises dated way back in 2011 are still unfulfilled and said that based on such a track record, more talks would just be a waste of time.
The APNU Parliamentarian said that nothing at all associated with the call Local Government Election needs to be discussed between APNU and PPP judging from the games played by government with regard to the legislation so far.
But Rohee is quite taken back by these comments. He said that Greenidge’s utterance were totally out of place.
The General Secretary said he found it to be very indiscipline of Greenidge to even think about challenging the position taken by the Leader of his party “and this is what he did when he said there is nothing to discuss with the government.”
Rohee said that Greenidge seems to have jumped on a limb on his own in making those comments.
“So that is why I was making the point that Granger seems to have people in his ranks who have different views and have no difficulty in publicly saying the differences in views, so I believe that Granger has to be very careful,” added Rohee.