PNCR congress opens this afternoon
--- three-day forum to discuss ‘unity, inclusiveness’
Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
August 27, 2004
THE People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) anticipates more than 900 delegates at its 14th Biennial Congress opening this afternoon, making it the largest in recent years.
The congress is billed to get under way at the PNCR Congress Place headquarters with a tone-setting address by party leader, Mr Robert Corbin.
General Secretary, Mr Oscar Clarke yesterday said delegates and observers from all 10 administrative regions in Guyana and representatives from overseas party groups have confirmed their attendance.
The Biennial Congress, the highest decision making forum of the PNCR, will convene over three days.
Clarke told a press briefing at Congress Place that the congress will allow the party's leaders and members to collectively decide on organisational strategies and operational goals in line with its role as a major social and political stakeholder in the country.
The expected intense participation of delegates and the openness and inclusiveness of its forums will again amply demonstrate the deep democratic and change oriented character of the party, he said.
He said members and supporters have been working untiringly over the last few months to put in place the logistical infrastructure, administrative and other arrangements to ensure a glitch-free event, “as befitting the significance and magnitude of the occasion.”
The theme for the congress is `Building a Platform for Peace, Cohesion and Reconstruction’.
Clarke said Mr Corbin is expected to address the urgency of achieving party goals reflected in the choice of the congress theme and his speech will focus on the status of the PNCR and the country as a whole; the challenges being faced, and the opportunities that must be seized.
Corbin reportedly will also emphasise the importance of the party members recommitting to the principles of inclusiveness and unity and outline the strategic vision for the PNCR and the country.
The General Secretary will read his report tomorrow and there will be workshops, questions and motions sessions, and plenary sessions for the delegates to make their inputs and shape party decisions.
The election of new party officers and executive members is scheduled for Sunday, the final day of the congress.
All offices, including that of the party leader, are open for contest, Clarke pointed out.
As part of the general congress activities, the National Congress of Women (the NCW) -- the women's arm of the party -- and the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (the GYSM), the youth arm of the party, will be holding their own biennial conferences.
The NWC will convene its 13th Convention at 10:00 hrs today at the Campbellville Secondary School, while the GYSM will be holding its 12th Biennial Congress Sunday, starting at 08.00 hrs, at the Redeemer Primary School.
Clarke declared that there is no doubt that the delegates will leave the 14th Biennial Congress “with a clear sense of mission and renewed commitment and determination.”
He added that they will be given a firm understanding of whatever changes in strategies or new thinking may be decided, leave with a plan of action to take the party forward into government, and share in the party's dedication to reconstructing the nation on a platform of peace and national cohesion.
The congress will culminate with a dance tomorrow night at Congress Place and a congress rally and cultural extravaganza at the 1763 Monument Square on Sunday, starting at 18:00 hrs.