Granger made an “unfortunate judgement call” by not attending – Teixeira

Presidents’ meeting

Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira said that former President David Granger made an unfortunate judgement call when he rejected the invitation to join President Dr Irfaan Ali and the other former Presidents of Guyana for a meeting last week.

Minister Teixeira had sent the invitation on behalf of President Ali to all four of Guyana’s former Heads of State – Granger, Donald Ramotar, Bharrat Jagdeo and Samuel Hinds – to discuss a range of issues for national development.

However, Granger declined the invitation, saying there was no agenda given for the discussions. The former Guyanese leader also asked that the meeting be deferred until an agenda is fixed.
But according to Minister Teixeira, the former Guyanese leader missed a golden opportunity.
“One of the things that I think politicians have to know when there is an opportunity out there, and you go make a mistake and reject it, it is always a delicate balance. And that is why politics is such a fascinating field. It has to do with judgement calls that you make, and, I believe, in this case, Mr Granger has made a very unfortunate judgement call,” she told the Department of Public Information on Friday.
Nevertheless, the Minister noted that the door is still open as “we have not shut the door on Mr Granger.”

Teixeira further posited that Granger should not feel “intimidated” by meeting the former Presidents.
“It was a meeting of former Presidents and the present and he would not feel outnumbered. That was not the meeting of political parties, but of former Presidents – completely different dimensions. I hope that Mr Granger in his quiet time will reflect and realise it’s time to get on board the Guyana ship and let’s look at the major issues of national concern for our country,” she said.

On Thursday, President Ali extended another invitation to Granger to join discussions on areas that will see the country benefitting. He plans to meet with the former Heads of State on a quarterly basis going forward.
According to the President, the essence of the first meeting was to be a free-flowing forum to come up with the thematic areas for future discussions. He noted that now that they have those “thematic areas”, they will be used at the next meeting of the Guyanese leaders.

“I have no difficulties in communicating to him the areas that we discussed… Now President Granger can come in at the next meeting. The invitation is open to him and, of course, if he has any additional areas of interest, he’s more than welcome to raise them,” Ali declared.

At the first meeting on Tuesday, the Guyanese leaders discussed topical issues such as border security, sovereignty, the environment, including climate change, oil and gas with a focus on local content, enhancing national security and constitutional reform. Also on the agenda was electoral reform, national unity with a focus of reforming the Racial Hostility Act and finding ways to ensure good governance.
President Ali assumed office as Guyana’s 9th Executive President in August following five months of electoral and political deadlock following the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.
The former Granger-led APNU/AFC Administration had refused to concede defeat at the March 2 polls and demit office.

In fact, even after a National Recount confirmed the People’s Progressive Party/Civic electoral victory, the coalition continued with its delay tactics by moving to the courts.
It took mounting international and local pressure for the new People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government to be finally sworn in to office on August 2, 2020.
Nevertheless, several months later, the Opposition APNU/AFC coalition still claims that the PPP/C Government is illegal.
Despite this, President Ali said his Administration is committed to inclusivity but in the same breath posited that “If we are to grow as a people, this has to be a two-way street.”