Absence of visionary leadership, racism push Figuera resignation from PNCR

Former People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) executive Jermaine Figuera has cited a deep erosion of the party’s ideals of national unity, a decline in ethics and honour, the absence of visionary leadership, and a failure to uphold national duty as the principal reasons for his resignation.

In a statement, Figuera said the leadership of the PNCR has, in recent times, exhibited a troubling tolerance for rising ethnic antagonism. In its alignment with elements espousing divisive ethno-political rhetoric, which corrodes the pluralistic foundation of our society, the party has deviated from the tenets of inclusive nationalism.

“What was once a platform for unifying vision now flirts perilously with sectarian dogma. This is not the movement I joined. The responsibility to defend and promote national unity is absolute; its abdication is a moral failure,” he said.

The former PNCR executive said the internal culture of the PNCR has deteriorated from principled deliberation to an insular climate defined by sycophancy, vindictiveness, and the systematic sidelining of faithful contributors.

“I have personally experienced arbitrary exclusion, and I have witnessed the unjust treatment of long-serving stalwarts such as the late Comrade Amna Ally, even with her passing. This is no longer a party anchored in discipline and dignity, it is a structure in retreat from ethical stewardship and true comradery,” he decried.

Once a vanguard of transformative ideas and generational leadership, the PNCR, Figuera said, today suffers from intellectual inertia and political pettiness, pointing out that it lacks imagination, unity of purpose, and renewal mechanisms necessary to respond to a rapidly evolving national context.

Figuera, who is well-known in Linden, said in an era that demands bold thinking and courageous leadership, the PNCR has become introspective and reactive rather than visionary and proactive.

He criticised the PNCR walkout in the National Assembly at a time when Venezuela renewed its claims to Guyana’s territorial sovereignty.

“To have walked out of Parliament, when our country required a unanimous reaffirmation of its sovereignty, was not only a dereliction of parliamentary responsibility, it was a betrayal of the very ethos upon which the party was founded. Leadership must be rooted in love of country, above all else. Let it be unambiguously understood: my resignation is a matter of principle. I cannot, in good conscience, lend legitimacy to a course of action that veers Guyana away from truth, justice, unity, and the national interest,” he stated.