Leader of the A Partnership for National Unity, David Granger, says the recent induction of two new political parties into the partnership has further strengthened it.
Last Friday, the APNU Executive approved applications from Equal Rights and Justice Party (ERJP) and Guyana Nation Builders Movement (GNBM), which were established by former Ministers in Granger’s previous APNU/AFC coalition Administration, Jaipaul Sharma and Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, respectively – to join the ten-year-old partnership.
Sarabo-Halley, who had served as Public Service Minister, is currently serving as an Opposition Member of Parliament. She had resigned from former APNU Member, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) after the party left the partnership.
Meanwhile, Sharma, a former Junior Finance and Public Infrastructure Minister had also resigned from politics last August. His party – the Justice For All Party (JFAP) founded by his father, Chandra Narine Sharma – had also resigned from APNU.
Both the JFAP and the WPA had cited the dictatorial nature of the Granger-led party while in and out of office.
But according to Granger during this week’s edition of ‘The Public Interest’ programme, while the APNU was disappointed with withdrawals of those two parties last year, the gap has now been filled by the two new parties.
“There is no antagonism and the APNU was happy to receive those two new parties which have now become partners in the APNU… We’re now back up to strength. We feel we’re stronger together and we applaud the decisions of the two young and experienced members… So, we’re strong and the accession of those two parties has strengthened the APNU,” the former Head of State posited.
He further outlined that the ERJP and GNBM have their own concept paper/manifesto that they will be using to go out to campaign on and bring their own constituents into the APNU fraction.
The new parties join with the Guyana Action Party (GAP), National Front Alliance (NFA) and People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).
Next month, APNU will observe the 10th anniversary of its establishment in July 2011.
