| – many questions left answered By Abena RockcliffeBefore the pre-election coalition that rendered them successful in the May 11 General and Regional Elections, the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) held weekly press conferences as independent political parties.It was on February 14,Cheap Jerseys From China, the two parties for the first time held a joint press conference at the Georgetown Club,Andrew Desjardins Jersey, to announce the historical coalition that eventually contested the elections that ousted the people’s progressive party civic from government after 22 years.APNU GS,Joseph HarmonAFC GS,David PattersonBut since the official results were declared and the President was sworn in, both APNU and the AFC appear to have shied away from the scrutiny of the media.It should be noted that after that historical press conference several other press conferences were held both separately and jointly in the run up to the elections.Further, during that time when the elections results were unclear,Wholesale China Jerseys, the parties were having almost just as many press conferences as the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).But the once weekly media briefs seem to be a thing of the past.On the other hand, the People Progressive Party (PPP) continued to hold press conferences on a weekly basis just as it used to when it had political power.In the absence of press conferences hosted by the other two main political parties, many questions remain unanswered.For example, Working People Alliance’s (WPA) Tacuma Ogunseye had raised concerns about internal matters in the APNU, but the media never got the opportunity to ask questions on that and other related issues and those issues were eventually swept under the carpet.WPA is one of the political parties that forms part of the five-party APNU. In fact, with regard to support base, the party is only second to the PNC in the coalition.Ogunseye had a problem with the fact that President David Granger and his close APNU officials did not find it necessary to hold in-house meetings before decisions were made with respect to post elections responsibilities and Ministerial appointments.Ogunseye had said, “I feel very strongly that this matter which I allude to must be addressed publicly at this time. If it is not,Arizona Diamondbacks Fernando Rodney Jersey, we will be setting a dangerous precedent that can have negative effects on our collective political aspirations.”There were no public answers given in response to Ogunseye’s concerns and so the media is left to wonder if it was ever sorted out or if there remains a rift.Many in the public domain, especially young voters,David Njoku Jersey, had questions about APNU’s decision not to appoint at least one of its members under 40 to a senior Ministerial position despite the fact that over 60 percent of the voting population were youths. The AFC did not appoint any of its young members either. The General Secretaries of both parties never addressed these issues.Kaieteur News made attempts to contact the General Secretaries of both parties yesterday but was only successful in getting on to AFC’s David Patterson.Patterson told this publication there was no specific reason why the AFC had not held any press conferences. In fact, he indicated that a press conference will be held within this new week.Patterson also indicated that the AFC is fully functional otherwise and holds in-house meetings weekly.It is now a rare occasion when one can get in contact with APNU’s General Secretary Joseph Harmon which is a vast contrast to his pre-election availability to the media. Ironically,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, before Harmon assumed public office, he displayed a more accountable attitude to the public.In addition to the fact that no press conferences are being held by the individual parties, media practitioners are only given very narrow parameters at the sometimes weekly post cabinet briefings.The moderator often limits one to two questions per reporter and most of these questions will centre on government policies and not on the individual parties’ position. |
