A total of 17 town hall meetings have been planned across the country for the five nominees vying for the People’s National Congress Reform presidential candidacy to interact and address party supporters and other members of society.
The public meetings will be held between January 15-Februaury 14 this year at venues in all ten administrative regions, the party announced on Wednesday. The first meeting will be held on Friday at the Queenstown Community Centre, Essequibo Coast and then on Saturday at Hopetown Primary School, West Coast Berbice. There are two meetings for Sunday in Corentyne, one at Manchester Primary and the other at Corentyne Secondary School.
The town hall meetings are part of an elaborate procedure the party designed to choose its candidate for this year’s general and regional elections.
Members of the party will on February 26 elect their presidential candidate from an approved line-up of five persons including a new face, young attorney James Bond. The list also included the other four known names of David Granger, Carl Greenidge, Dr Faith Harding, and Basil Williams.
Basil Williams
PNCR General Secretary, Oscar Clarke told the media last Friday at the weekly briefing, that the central executive committee was expected to meet with the nominees on Wednesday before they are presented to the public as promised.
He pointed out that the party-sponsored town-hall style meetings in the various regions will take place in the weeks leading up to the congress set for February 26. “The candidates are going to be there to answer people’s questions; the candidates will be out and about at the behest of the party,” Clarke added. They will firstly have to sign a code of conduct to ensure that they conform to behaviours that are expected of them.
Bond, the new kid on the block, told Guyana Times International that he was brought into the fold by the late Winston Murray on June 15, 2010: “It was he who mentored and taught me and further instilled within me the principles of fairness, equality, honesty, hard work and discipline.”
The 31-year-old who heads the National Youth Caucus (NYC) wants greater attentiveness on youth in areas of economic prosperity, law, civic decency, sport, and physical wellbeing. His vision for Guyana includes encouraging ingenuity in entrepreneurship; the introduction of new industries and the diversification of old ones.
Dr Faith Harding
“It also encompasses a higher standard of what obtains for human rights and greater respect for the rule of law.” Bond also wants to see enhanced protection of public servants financially, and the poorer classes of Guyanese.
One of the earlier known contenders, Retired Army General, David Granger has an ‘E-6 gateway to a good life’ featuring Education, Employment, Enterprise, Empowerment, Economy and Equality. “My policy is to restore a high level of public security and to start work to bring about a high level of national unity” he told reporters at a briefing in October. According to him, both will take a long time, but with a reformed Guyana Police Force and educational system, can bring about greater cohesion in society.
Former Public Service Minister and the lone female contender, Dr Faith Harding in an interview with Guyana Times International said her vision for Guyana included welfare programmes for women and children, education, Amerindian rights and equal land and wealth distribution supported by the promotion of a vibrant civil society.
Carl Greenidge had said that his experience and background on issues of development and poverty reduction, among others, will allow him to cast a vision for Guyana along a path that citizens can follow: “This will enable Guyanese to live within the type of society they’ve been aspiring to live in for quite some time.”
Williams who had long expressed his interest, said if he were elected president of Guyana, his emphasis would be on ensuring that everyone enjoys a decent standard of living and have the opportunities to develop themselves and the country.
