Granger declines Presidents’ meeting

Former President David Granger has declined an invitation from President Dr. Irfaan Ali to attend a State House lunch to discuss inclusive governance, Guyana’s development, and the way forward. He registered his effective refusal in a letter, demanding that the government address certain issues and defer the Presidents’ meeting until after those issues are taken care of. The meeting is set to occur on Tuesday, December 15.Granger said that the public is concerned about certain actions of the government, including “deaths as a result of the pandemic; dismissals of public servants; dismantling of the Departments of Citizenship and Social Cohesion; harassment of Elections Commission officials and human rights violations – which can have deleterious consequences for short-, medium- and long-term national development.”
He said that he is concerned about protecting institutions which promote social cohesion.

“I recommend, therefore, that the meeting intended to be held on Tuesday 15th December 2020 be deferred until these important issues could be satisfactorily settled.” Granger said.
Furthermore, it was pointed out that the letter of invitation did not provide a detailed explanation of the agenda for the meeting, such as what preparation would be needed, the relevance of the engagement to government policies and the outcome to be expected.

These are considerations Granger purports to deem important, regarding Guyana’s development. Hence, the former President pointed to plans made by the Granger government before it was voted out, as topics of discussion for the Presidents’ meeting.
“You will recall that, on 1st January 2020, I had launched ‘Guyana’s decade of development, 2020-2029,” Granger said, “overcoming crime, disease, ignorance and poverty in which I outlined my concept for the country’s long-term development.”

“The Coalition administration, further, had promulgated the ‘National Action Plan for Public Health’ in May 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It had promulgated, also, ‘The Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040’ in May 2019.”
Granger also pointed to strategic plans for Public Health, Public Security, the Public Service, the Sugar Industry, Social Cohesion, state lands, squatter settlement and youth development, for consideration.
With that said, Granger proposed that a team be appointed to hammer out a practical agenda for the meeting, to allow for an informed and meaningful presidents’ engagement in the interest of Guyana’s development. He said it would be a huge public disappointment for the meeting to be hurried, unorganized and unplanned, and that it would be a blunder to ignore the legitimate concerns of a significant section of the population.