Volda Lawrence apologises
Amid consternation and mounting criticism of statements she made at Congress Place on November 25th about allocating jobs only to PNCR members, the party’s Chairman and the Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence yesterday issued an apology.
The apology came eight days after the statements were made and days after an earlier one in which she did not address the gravamen of the matter.
In the apology posted on her Facebook page, the PNCR Chairman and Public Health Minister said:
“My name is Volda Lawrence. Over the last 30 plus years, I have given service to my people and country. I have fought for my fellow countrymen and women known and unknown, irrespective of their class, creed or political affiliation. I have fought for freedom, equal rights and justice. The rhetoric attributed to me over the last few days, is not reflective of who I am as a person or leader. I have learned that as a leader I must be cognizant of what I say and do, and must not allow emotions or political fervour to get in the way. So to all those whom I have offended in one way or another, I humbly apologize. Thank you.”
Lawrence made no attempt to explain any of the statements that she had made and which have left questions unanswered. Lawrence was recorded
at the November 25th meeting telling attendees that they should not be afraid to give jobs or contracts to party comrades while indicating that she does the same.
“Well I got news for you: The only friends I got is PNC, so the only people I could give work to is PNC. And, right now, I looking for a doctor who can talk Spanish or Portuguese and ah want one that is PNC,” she is heard saying.
The presentation appeared to be a charge to those who had recently won seats or had been selected to serve on local government bodies following the November 12th local government polls where the party lost ground to the opposition PPP/C.
Lawrence was also heard addressing the PPP/C’s capture of more seats on the Georgetown City Council at the polls. She said “there are 15 constituencies in Georgetown hence there are 30 seats around the Horseshoe table and the PPP ensured that they had 28 people looking like me running for Georgetown and two looking like Jagdeo… do you understand the strategy?”
She added, “We like to assume that when we see someone looking a particular way, that they come from Robb Street but don’t assume that when you see someone looking like Comrade Sammy and Comrade Mahendra here, that they ain’t PNC. I come into the party and reach comrade Sammy. We got [to] bring more like them in. We want to win, we have to bring more of them in and they are here, they want to come in but some of us we so righteous and judgmental that the people can’t come in. Comrades, politics is a numbers game; there are many out there who didn’t enjoy the sweet of the PPP table and they see some good in us and our policies, such as social cohesion. The PPP is afraid of social cohesion but we must embrace it so we can take back the seat on the East Bank and East Coast.”
She further said, “We don’t have to wait no three years comrades there are mechanisms for us to go back to the polls. You see this long, long story, me ain’t able buse and cuss and waste me time; I lash you in you head and done the story. Done the story. Sometimes we like to yap, yap, yap, yap too much. Comrades; we have to run things in those NDCs… the same ones they say we lose. I challenge those on the East Bank and East Coast to get back into those NDCs and take them over. Don’t run from this stupidness—dem ain’t vote fo we because in some of these NDCs we just miss by a few votes. Take the statistics which you have and start to pick them off one by one. Before the three years out we must have another election going on in those constituencies. They took three from us in Georgetown… they got it in names and we will take it back. We will use the law, which is on our side and we will take it back.”
Her statement “I lash you in you head and done the story” has evoked consternation and remains completely unexplained by her or her party, the PNCR which has remained silent on the matter.
On Sunday, the leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), which is in the governing coalition with Lawrence’s group, APNU, rose to her defence.
AFC Leader Raphael Trotman dismissed concerns over the controversial statements.
“The Chair (Lawrence), I as Leader have known and worked closely with for 25 years has never shown racial or political partisanship, but in fact, has worked tirelessly, as politician and as a minister of government for the betterment of people of all walks of life and all backgrounds,” Trotman said in a public statement after being contacted by this newspaper yesterday for a comment on the controversy over Lawrence’s recorded remarks.
Trotman, who is a former member of the PNCR, said that the statement on Sunday conveyed his personal views. “It was issued