The Central Committee (CC) of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) met on Saturday, June 4, 2016. The main highlight of the meeting was the report to the Central Committee from the Party’s General Secretary, Clement Rohee which formed the basis for discussions on the way forward in terms of strengthening the Party, both organisationally and ideologically, in order to deliver on its mandate to ensure a peaceful, progressive and prosperous Guyana with the PPP/Civic back in office.
Based on the General Secretary’s report, the Central Committee reviewed developments at the local and international levels.
A press statement from the PPP this morning said the Central Committee took note of the developments in the global economy which appears to be in the throes of another crisis in the financial sector compounded by a slow growth pattern on a global scale and influenced by increasing protectionist measures which in turn is impacting negatively on global trade and growth estimated to be at 3.4 percent in 2016 and 3.6 percent in 2017.
At the national level, the Central Committee took the view that unless these danger signals at the global level are taken into account by the David Granger-led coalition administration, then the “rapid economic development with meaningful job creation with adequate wages and remuneration in pursuit of a dynamic and modern economy” promised in their 2015 election manifesto will become a pipe dream and the Guyanese people will be made to suffer the consequences unnecessarily.
According to the PPP statement, the Central Committee took note of the economic and social decline that characterised the first year of the Granger-led APNU-AFC coalition. It said the Central Committee “expressed alarm over the fact that in less than a year the local economy has contracted significantly due primarily to economic mismanagement and fiscal indiscipline. This has resulted in a lost of investor confidence and the consequential inability to create new jobs for a growing youth population.”
The Central Committee also took note of the volatile political situation in the neighbouring countries of Venezuela and Brazil and the severe socio-economic impact it is having on the lives of working people.
The growing conflict in the Middle East and the rise of extremist and xenophobic tendencies in a number of European countries was also examined.
In analyzing the current political situation in the country, the Central Committee condemned the continuing witch-hunting and unjustifiable attacks against Party leaders and professionals who are perceived to be sympathetic to the PPP/C by the Granger administration and expressed its resolve to defend itself against such politically motivated actions by the Granger administration.
The PPP stated that note was also taken by its Central Committee “of attempts by certain elements to sow the seeds of discord within the leadership of the Party. The Party reiterated its strong resolve to counter any such attempt to divide the Party.”
The Central Committee expressed satisfaction over the performance of the Party in the recent Municipal and Local Government elections which the Party won by an overwhelming majority.
The Central Committee condemned the efforts by the Granger administration to undermine the democratically elected RDCs and NDCs controlled by the PPP/C and resolved to mount a more aggressive fight-back against government’s wrongdoings at the regional and national levels.
The Central Committee deliberated comprehensively on ways of preserving the substantial gains for the people made by the PPP/C administration which are now being systematically eroded by the current APNU-AFC regime.
Emphasis was also placed on the need to broaden the appeal and reach of the Party with respect to significant stakeholders and the society as a whole.
The urgency of the Party to retake political power within the shortest possible time was emphasised in order to arrest the downward trajectory in which the country is now heading.
“The Central Committee, in its deliberations, recalled that GECOM in collusion with APNU+AFC operatives were responsible for the Party losing the government in 2015 and that the resolve of the Party must be never again,” the PPP stated, adding that the climate of fear and insecurity which now stalk the land was seen by the Central Committee as a manifestation of the gross incompetence of the current regime to guarantee public safety and security of the Guyanese people.
The PPP Central Committee resolved to exert every effort to strengthen the Party organisationally, to improve Party discipline as well as the unity and cohesion of its entire membership.
The Central Committee also resolved unanimously to hold its 31st Congress in the last quarter of the year (2016) in keeping with the Party’s Constitution.
