David Granger Campaign Newsletter, Issue No. 6

8/4/2019 David Granger Campaign Newsletter, Issue No. 6

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Democracy! Campaign Newsletter of A Partnership for National Unity July-August 2011

Distress in the Pomeroon-Supenaam RegionR esidents of the Pomeroon River squarely

blamed the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration for the human distressand economic depression in the district. They bemoaned the PPPC administration’s failure toprovide assistance or relief when farms alongthe low-lying areas banks were ooded.These were among the numerous complaintsmade to Presidential Candidate of A Partner-ship for National Unity Brigadier (ret) DavidGranger when he visited the Pomeroon-Supe-naam Region in July.

At meetings with the residents of St Monica’sMission and Kabakaburi Village in the Pomer-oon River, Granger learnt of problems whichincluded the lack of equipment to engage inlogging; difculty in obtaining material for weaving and predatory practices by businesspersons at Charity. Parents complained of thehigh cost of sending their children to schoolon the Essequibo Coast and the absence of any form of medical evacuation facility – such asa river ambulance – to transport patients whoneeded emergency assistance.

At meetings with villagers of Aberdeen, Waka-pau and Friendship – all farming communities– Granger heard complaints of poor drainageand heavy ooding in the farm lands duringheavy rainfall and spring tides. Canals had not been de-silted and the mouth of the PomeroonRiver has not been dredged for many years.Residents reported that farming was dying.

Brigadier Granger also met businessmen,Charity Market vendors and ordinary residentsalong the Essequibo Coast.

Meeting businessman Samad Bacchus

Villagers of St. Monica’s Mission

Listening and learning



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Headline News

Democracy!

Hinterland residents, particularly in the Up-per Mazaruni District, have blamed the

People’s Progressive Party Civic Administrationfor the high cost-of-living. APNU PresidentialCandidate Brigadier David Granger listened tothe residents’ complaints and had a rst-handlook at the villagers’ depressed living conditions

when he visited the Cuyuni-Mazaruni Regionon 6th -8th August.Granger – in his meetings with residents of Ka-marang, Kako, Jawalla and Quebenang – lis-tened to their views and concerns. He then out-lined APNU’s vision for the future of the UpperMazaruni. This included establishing an UpperMazaruni Development Agency as a means of encouraging investment, harnessing economicpotential and fast-tracking the development of the land and the people.

He pointed out that the indigenous residents re-mained impoverished despite the fact that theCuyuni-Mazaruni Region – which was about thesize of The Netherlands – generated enormous wealth from its legendary tourism industry andmining and logging economy. He accused thePPPC of attempting to use the hinterland as a‘vote farm’ every ve years rather than attendingto the people’s daily human needs for employ-

High cost-of-living in the hinterland

Indigenous People are being neglected

ment, education and economic opportunity.Toshao Norma Thomas and Regional Vice-

Chairman and Guyana Action Party (GAP) Ms Amrita Thomas also addressed the gatheringin Kamarang. They expressed the hope that thepeople of the Upper Mazaruni would be con-sulted on all matters that affected them. Grang-er emphasised that an APNU Administration would consult the people of the region beforetaking decisions affecting their lives and theirfuture.Granger also addressed the opening ceremony of the Upper Mazaruni Annual District Games

at Jawalla and met villagers on Sunday 7th Au-gust. Meeting villagers at Jawalla

David Granger, observing International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Tues-

day 9th August, asserted that Guyana’s Indig-enous people have derived little benet over thepast nineteen years under the PPPC adminis-

tration. Little has been done to implement poli-cies and programmes to eradicate poverty andalleviate unemployment in their communities.He pointed out that, living mainly in the hinter-land, Indigenous people remain marginalisedfrom mainstream society. This was so largely because of the absence of roadways, bridges andaerodromes; the high cost of fuel; insufcientcoastal and riverain vessels and other transportinfrastructure.

Villagers of Yarakita



3Democracy!

Presidential Candidate of A Partnership forNational Unity David Granger, has prom-

ised to “establish an inclusionary democracy,fullling the objectives of our national con-stitution.” He declared that the Partnership – APNU – was committed to ending the ‘winner-takes-all’ politics and ‘one-party’ governancepractised in Guyana if elected into ofce at theforthcoming general and regional elections.Granger made these commitments at the for-

mal launch of the Partnership on 15th July.Rallies were held subsequently in Linden,New Amsterdam and Georgetown. Dr RupertRoopnaraine of the Working People’s Alliance– WPA – speaking at APNU’s open-air rally atthe Square of the Revolution in Georgetownon Friday 29th July, reminded the large crowdthat they – and not those currently in ofce who continued to disrespect and disregardtheir rights – were the owners of our nation.

He stated that “The days when they can shareout the riches and the resources of Guyana totheir families and their friends and their cro-nies” were coming to an end. At the Georgetown rally which was chaired by Ms Vanessa Kissoon, MP, Ms Dawn Hast-ings, who hails from Kako Village in the Cuyu-ni-Mazaruni Region, greeted the gathering in Akawaio language and said that she was con-

APNU rallies herald democratic renewal

vinced that the APNU’s vision of a Governmentof National Unity is the answer to the fears of

our country’s Indigenous peoples. David Hindsof the WPA declared that the APNU is a “sym- bolism of the PNC and the WPA – parties whichhad big differences in the past – coming togeth-er transcending their differences in the interestof all Guyana.” PNCR MP Basil Williams notedthat the Partnership “could rescue this nationand remove this tyrant government from off the backs of the Guyanese people.”

Granger promises inclusionary democracy

David Granger has accused the People’s Progres-sive Party Civic Administration of attempting todeceive the public about the failure of its youthpolicy. The PPPC, after ignoring the entire Inter-national Year for Youth – IYY – which began on12th August 2010, attempted, at the last moment,to hastily convene what it called an “Impress

Youth Expo” at the International Conference Cen-tre on Thursday 11th August. This was just one day

Circus will not solve national youth crisis before the expiration of the IYY. The PPPC admin-istration has been, silent on the need to introduceserious policies to promote youth development andsilent on the need to provide young people with

jobs. It broke its silence only to host a circus whichoffered no solutions to the problems facing youthtoday, especially regarding education and employ-ment.



© Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Acknowledgment : Photographs are reprinted with the kind permission of the National Media and PublishingCompany Ltd. and GINA. This newsletter is published for A Partnership for National Unity Elections Campaign.

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Campaign Journal

Democracy!

APNU congratulates successful students

David Granger paida visit to Linden on

4th July 2011 to honourthe town’s top three stu-dents – Terron Alleyne,Carol Hopkinson, andTeryka Mohabir – who

were successful at theNational Grade Six As-sessment examinations.

He also visited the three top students – TomaishaSamuels, Zawadi Collins and Duane Walters – of Hopetown, Berbice on 13th July 2011. The studentsreceived book vouchers that will assist their studiesthrough the rst year of Secondary School.Martyrs remembered

David Granger participated in the start of a week of activities to commemorate the 188th anniver-

sary of the 1823 Demerara Massacre on Saturday 20th August. The activities – organised by the PARBAMEL(Paradise Village-Bachelor’s Adventure-MelanieDamishana) Community Development Youth Group

– commemorated the massacre of over 200 enslaved Africans on 20th August 1823 at Pln. Bachelor’s Ad- venture during the course of the Demerara Revolt.Granger related how the Demerara Revolt triggeredthe passage of the Emancipation Act exactly ten

years afterwards.National Reconciliation Day

David Granger at-tended the Son

Chapman Tragedy Com-memoration Commit-tee’s annual wreath-lay-

ing and remembranceprogramme on 4th July 2011, at Hurudaia, Up-per Demerara River.This event commemo-rated the 47th anniversary of the bombing of the SonChapman in which forty-three Lindeners were killed.Granger said that the ceremony should not be an oc-

casion for revenge, recrimination or retribution, butfor reconciliation. He iterated his intention to es-tablish an Institute for Conict Resolution and Na-

tional Reconciliation to research the causes of socialconict in Guyana and to recommend measures tosave our children from the scourge of communal andcriminal violence.

APNU village walkabout

A team of APNU of-cials and activ -

ists led by Presiden-tial candidate DavidGranger, Dr. RupertRoopnaraine and DrDavid Hinds and local

activists Deon Abramsand Maurice Wilson,participated in a walk-about in Buxton-Friendship on 3rd August. This activ-ity is part of a massive outreach by the APNU aimedat taking the Partnership into homes and communi-ties across Guyana. The APNU leaders were able tohear from villagers about the problems which besettheir community and they identied high unemploy -ment as the biggest problem. They urged the APNUteam to make jobs a priority when it gets into ofce.

Emancipation Day is a national celebration

David Granger participated in a Prayer Service atPlaisance Village on the Coast Demerara, festi-

vals at Liverpool and Nurney Villages on the Coren-tyne Coast, Berbice and the National EmancipationFestival organised by the African Cultural Develop-ment Association at the National Park on the 1st Au-gust – Emancipation Day.Gold and diamond miners’ meeting

The President and Executives of the Guyana Goldand Diamond Miners Association met David

Granger at the Association’s head ofce in George-

town on 14th July. Some of the issues discussed in-cluded the Low Carbon Development Strategy;

Amerindian Titled Lands; Regulatory Framework to minimize perceived corruption in state agencies;Taxation and Royalty rates and Security Sector Re-form. The miners raised concerns about the con-traction of the alluvial mining sub-sector owing tothe PPPC administration’s practices.

Documents

David Granger Campaign Newsletter, Issue No. 6