Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform, Aubrey Norton has laid out a plan of action should his party take government next year, but he said his 69 year old organization must first seek to obtain and maintain the trust of the Guyanese people ahead of those crucial elections.

While acknowledging that there are some challenges in the party, Mr. Norton said he believes that the PNC Reform can rally its troops to vote the governing People’s Progressive Party out of Office.

“As we seek to build a just, inclusive, and prosperous society, we must continue to work assiduously to increase the support of the people. Our contract is a new deal for the people of Guyana. The PNCR will seek to obtain and maintain the trust of the people to govern. We see our commitments, our pledges, and our responses to the Guyanese people as a contract with the people of Guyana,” Mr. Norton tells delegates at his party’s congress.

On the issue of living conditions, he said poverty is widespread in Guyana and that people can no longer accept their continued poverty and pauperization amidst the existing oil wealth. 

“People will no longer accept the normalization of high and rising costs of living. People now reject the glaring unfairness in the distribution of income, wealth, and opportunity. People no longer accept the PPP’s crony capitalism in which there is little or no competition, just government control and domination,” Mr. Norton stated.

He said not only is the PNC/R committed to Social Cohesion but it is also committed to inclusive prosperity. He said his party will never accept that Guyana, as one of the richest countries in the world, is increasingly plagued by food and income poverty, gaping inequality, and widespread economic desperation and hopelessness. 

“It is a national disgrace,” Norton said to a packed congress place before continuing, “that amid plenty, Guyanese and their families are becoming more pauperized, traumatized, and demoralized. It is for this reason the Party has to be organized to be in government. We will develop several pathways to prosperity. We will ensure personal and household prosperity through employment, self-employment, business investment, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation. Our pathways will provide the “ladders” for Guyanese to pursue further economic self-empowerment,” he stated.

On the question of foreign policy, Mr. Norton said  now than ever, Guyana needs a Party and a government that can confront and overcome these existential challenges with a commitment rooted in a profound sense of patriotism and nationhood. 

“We cannot understand why the government cannot craft the required foreign policy initiatives to counter Venezuela’s diplomatic clout in the Eastern Caribbean. It is our fervent hope that the government will make every effort to reclaim the position we had with the Caribbean Community, which is important to us both diplomatically and geopolitically. Let me end this section of my speech with a warning,” He stated.

The party’s congress and elections will continue through the weekend.

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