Georgetown, Guyana – (January 30, 2016) Demonstrating the strength of the relationship between the parties of the APNU+AFC Coalition Government, President David Granger attended the Commissioning of the Alliance for Change (AFC) Headquarters in Kitty, this afternoon. The Head of State, who is also leader of the APNU+AFC Coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and his party, the People’s National Congress (PNC), declared that coalition politics is important for the development of Guyana.
President Granger said that the Commissioning of the AFC Headquarters is a step in concretising the structure and work of the party but that it is not just the AFC that is here to stay but “Coalition politics, cooperation politics, collaboration politics are also here to stay.”
Noting that February 14 will mark one year since the signing of the Cummingsburg Accord, President Granger said that transformative event ushered in a new day for Guyana and embodied the importance of a united country for national development.
“I do believe that the establishment of this Coalition, of which the AFC is a critical part, is a step towards creating that national unity… Guyana is the most bountiful, the most beautiful country in the Caribbean and our failure to develop our resources, to make our people happier, has largely been a failure of national unity,” he said.
The Head of State opined that even as Guyana gets ready to celebrate 50 years of Independence, the nation has lagged behind other countries in the region, which have fewer resources. He posited that this is because they have been able to develop a sense of internal cohesion, a sense of solidarity and a sense of nationhood to combine the energies of their people, rather than fighting among themselves.
President Granger said that the establishment of the Coalition is about the future and it is about ensuring that the diverse peoples of the nation have a voice in Government, since despite our differences, we all want the same thing; a good life.
“Within the Coalition, we do not seek to obliterate the view of any component. It is our commitment as a coalition to make sure that the people will always come first above personal interest, even above party interest. We have been able to create a vision for Guyana in which the national interest will prevail.
Co-Founder of the AFC and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan reminisced about the signing of the Cummingsburg Accord at the house of President Granger, who was Opposition Leader at the time, and noted that in time all the promises in the Coalition’s Manifesto will be delivered.
“We have made mistakes that we must be held accountable for it but it has been wonderful; this journey… Since we have formed this movement, we have said we want national unity; we want justice; we want equality; we want to make Guyana number one in the Caribbean and we will make it through this Coalition politics, through the partnership that we have with the APNU,” he said.
Chairman of the AFC, Nigel Hughes, who spoke on the principles and ideologies of this party, echoed the sentiments of national unity.
“We are all equal in the fact that we are all different. We are same in the fact that we will never be the same. We are united by the reality that all colours and all cultures are distinct and individual. We are harmonious in the reality that we are all held to this earth by the same gravity. We may not share the same blood but we share the same air that keeps us alive,” Mr. Hughes said.
The AFC Headquarters has been named the Centre for Change and is located at 26 Railway Line Kitty. The facility’s conference room has been named for the late Co-Founder of the party, Ms. Sheila Holder, who was remembered in tribute by Minister of Public Telecommunications, Ms. Catherine Hughes.
A section of the invitees at the commissioning ceremony this afternoon. From left: Head of the Government Information Agency, Beverley Alert, Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Ms. Valerie Garrido Lowe, Minister of Business, Mr. Dominic Gaskin, Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Noel Holder and other dignitaries.
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