‘You are not welcome here’ – disgruntled Lindeners tell Granger
“This tells me that there is a substantial number of members who are still interested in the Local Government campaign and in APNU while there are some only interested in causing disruption”- Granger
The accounts given to Kaieteur News about the series of events which occurred on Friday night at Mackenzie High School, Linden, differed each time it was related.
APNU Leader,
David Granger
The only consistent bit of information is that Opposition Leader, David Granger, was chased by a group of disgruntled Lindeners.
Granger, in his capacity as Leader of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), visited Linden for a meeting which he said was advertised by mean of handbills.
Kaieteur News understands that the meeting which was scheduled to begin at 18:00hrs, started on time but a contingent who got there about 18:30hrs was locked out.
Region Ten Councilor, Leslie Gonsalves, recounted that he and approximately 60 other Lindeners were barred from entering the school compound and as such decided to protest the premises. He said that there were some 16 Lindeners inside listening to what Granger had to say.
According to Gonsalves, the contingent went to the school with intent to convince Granger that he has to address pending matters.
Gonsalves said that he and the others wanted Granger to understand that the people of Linden are not at all happy with the way the Chairman and Councilors are being sidelined; neither are they happy with the imposition of a Coordinator, Sandra Adams.
Gonsalves said that it is totally unacceptable that the grievances from the People’s National Congress Reform August congress are still to be properly addressed.
He said that the matters from Congress include the ‘fact’ that a large number of Lindeners were disenfranchised, “and we want him to sort out the Vanessa Kissoon issue as well”.
Going back to the coordinator issue, Gonsalves said “We cannot understand why they have to impose a coordinator here. We live in Region Ten; we should know what is best for us. Sandra Adams cuss out PNC (People’s Congress Reform) in 2006 and left for the US.
“She wasn’t here to work in the last election but now she want to come back and be the head n**ga in charge; to this we are saying no.”
Gonsalves said that the group who shouted to Granger “you are not welcome here” does not have a problem with the leader himself.
According to him, the Lindeners have a problem with the way Granger has been operating. “If you want to do something for Linden you have to consult with the people who living up here…Granger would not be welcome until he deals with outstanding issues.”
The Councilor claimed that there were several efforts made before to contract Granger to confront the issues but he never responded.
Asked why the group prepared placards if people just wanted to attend the meeting, Gonsalves said that they had no other choice but to put their concerns on paper.
Some placards read that “Burnham and Hoyte turning in their grave” and “Remember July 18, 2012.” Gonsalves said that the latter was placed there because “Granger de go behind we back and make agreement for electricity with Ramotar.”
However, even with all his concerns, Gonsalves said “We are still diehard PNC people.”
Kaieteur News contacted Granger whose details of what happened differed significantly from those of Gonsalves.
Granger said that over 50 Lindeners attended and participated fully in the meeting which went on for three hours.
He said that while things proceeded peacefully inside the Mackenzie High School, a contingent of just about 30 people caused ruckus outside.
The politician said that from all indications, the group went with the intention of disrupting the meeting.
“They came with placards and were making an extreme amount of noise so they were not allowed in…When I was leaving they started shouting all sorts of things.”
Asked what the occurrence signaled to him, Granger said, “This tells me that there is a substantial amount of members who are still interested in the Local Government campaign and in APNU while there are some who are not interested in those things but in causing disruption.
“Last night (Friday night) convinced me that some Lindeners still want to see a united Party while some prefer to have a noisy protest.”
He said that Lindeners who attended the meeting raised issues about unity in PNCR, land settlement, and the way news is being covered by the National Communication Network (NCN) in Linden.
Granger added that a matter was raised about some persons who collected money in the United States for the Party but cannot account for it.
Granger told Kaieteur News, “I had a one and one meeting with Gonsalves prior to congress but the main issue here that needs to be understood is that (Sharma) Solomon is not the Chairman of PNC (Peoples National Congress Reform). He is the Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council. Solomon is an ordinary member of the PNC and so is Gonsalves and Vanessa Kissoon. They are not Party officials but they are preventing some officials from performing functions.”
The political leader said that other councilors attended the meeting as well as several other people of Linden.
