–former PNC General Secretary Amna Ally breaks her silence after being criticised by party’s leader
–says she has no confidence in his leadership, announces her support for Roysdale Forde
THE proverbial hammer continues to fall on Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton, with former General Secretary of the People’s National Congress-Reform (PNC-R) Amna Ally being the latest person within the party to take a jab at him by declaring that he is “not fit” to be a leader.
The incumbent PNC-R Leader, within the past few weeks, has been putting the party stalwart on blast, accusing her of a number of infractions, including undermining the party’s current leadership.
However, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday, Ally said that Norton is “losing ground” and “looking for scapegoats to place the blame on”.
Since fellow Opposition member Roysdale Forde launched his internal campaign on the day of Norton’s press conference, the party’s shaky foundation has started to “rock” even more.
In response to Norton’s accusations against her, Ally called on the party’s leader to get his act together.
“What Mr. Norton, the Opposition Leader, has to do is pull his socks up. Mr. Norton must work with the Constitution, and he must seek to unify the party rather than splitting hairs and having people go their own way. He is not fit to be a leader,” Ally firmly said.
Additionally, Ally said that Norton’s feathers have become ruffled because she is not following him.
Instead, the former PNC-R General Secretary has placed her confidence in Forde, and while listing the qualities that Forde has, which she thinks make him a better candidate than Norton, Ally said: “…I don’t want to have a leader who has an issue with 30 blank cheques.”
According to former PNC-R Treasurer Faaiz Mursaline, in a previous interview with this publication, from the time he assumed the position of elected treasurer, he was made to sign blank cheques with no supporting documents.
In November 2022, he signed as many as 20 blank cheques. In his request for an audit of the party’s finances, Mursaline said that he had even suggested that it be done by current party executive and Member of Parliament, Volda Lawrence. However, this was shot down by Norton.
During the PNC-R’s press conference on January 5, Norton sought to address Mursaline’s claims that he’d called for an audit into the party’s finances by conceding that he’d advised him that Lawrence could not audit the party’s finances, as doing so would amount to a conflict of interest.
He, however, offered no explanation as to why a private firm has not been brought in to audit the party’s records.
When asked about the current financial state of the party and if she believes it is in a position to contest the upcoming elections, Ally said she couldn’t care less as long as Norton is at the helm.
“I don’t know and I don’t care, because I am not going to lift a finger under Norton’s leadership. When he is changed as leader, well, then I will look and see what contribution, if any, I can make. But as of now, I want nothing to do with Norton and his leadership,” she said.
