GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – General secretary of the main opposition, People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Dawn Hastings-Williams, citing several concerns, including invitations being sent out to people to attend the upcoming party Congress without her knowledge.
Her resignation, with immediate effect, comes ahead of the June 28-30 Biennial Congress, where a new executive, including the head of the party, is expected to be elected.
In her resignation letter, a copy of which has been published in the media, Hastings-Williams said she believes that as general secretary, she must “be integrally involved in every aspect of the preparation for the Congress.
“However, that has yet to happen in many instances. For example, invitations were sent out to persons without my knowledge, and I don’t know whose authorized signature other than the General Secretary of the Party is required.”
She said she only found out after sending out a few written invitations “only to be told they had already received an invitation.
“This, I see as a gross disrespect to my office. I am in no way against being assisted in preparing the invitation or any other document, but at least be given the courtesy of examining the draft and the final product. In this case, I have requested the number of invitees to inform the security personnel for safety and order.”
She said that since her appointment as general secretary, she has been attempting to rectify the party’s membership and following several situations. “I cannot personally vouch for the records’ accuracy in this section.
“Additionally, I have received complaints from several groups and party members, some in writing, that the records of the secretariat do not correspond with their previous submissions and that their membership register does not reflect their true membership.”
In her letter, she recalled that she had given an undertaking to accept the position of general secretary on the condition that she function in the post “without being micromanaged.”
In addition, after more than a year in the position, “I could not present any financial statement to the Central Executive Committee (CEC).
“The reason is simply that I cannot access the weekly or monthly income and expenditure statement. I requested the accountant last December to prepare and produce a financial statement for 2023 to present to the CEC.
“When I called for the statement to be handed to me, the accountant said that she had completed the statement as I instructed but was told not to hand it over to me but to put it on hold.”
She said that the party’s headquarters, Congress Place, “is not conducive to working at present, wildly when someone shouts and threatens staff that they will be sent home.
“In light of all the reasons stated above, I have decided to tender my resignation because I would not like to be a part of any unreasonable practice; hence it becomes precedence for next time. I love my party and will not continue to sit as a rubber stamp in the Office of the General Secretary,” Hastings-Williams wrote.
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