Businessman, Terrence Campbell has walked away from the newly formed political party, A New and United Guyana (ANUG), due to what he referred to as “polarization” in the political climate.
The party was being fronted by Campbell, a former heavyweight of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Ralph Ramkarran, who is also a former Speaker of the National Assembly, and former PPP government Minister Dr Henry Jeffrey and Attorney-at-law, Timothy Jonas.
In a statement sent to party members and later posted on his Facebook page today, Campbell said: “The polarization is enough of a deterrent for any aspiring politician,” adding that he does not think the time is right to enter the field of politics.
He added that “a good reading of the climate suggests that this is neither the time nor the place for me to sow my seeds.”
He referred to the issue of dual citizenship which is being pushed by the APNU+AFC Government in its fight against a No-Confidence vote which defeated the administration on December 21, 2018.
In a court case filed by the Government, it is contesting the validity of is former member, Charrandass Persaud’s vote based on the fact that he is also a citizen of Canada.
According to Campbell, the ANUG steering committee probably has three dual citizens.
On his Facebook page, Mr. Campbell shared a photo of an image being circulated in which he is warned that coalition supporters are looking to boycott businesses owned by him.
He noted that the APNU+AFC campaign is “misguided.”
Campbell is the holder of a Masters Degree in International Business and became a resident of the United States and moved there in September 1997.
He had applied to do a Doctorate in International Business and Economics at Pace University but returned to Guyana in 1999 to revive his car rental business and the courier service Fedex Guyana.
On his return, he formed an insurance Brokerage company called Apex, for which he is a consultant.
In 2005, he landed the Church’s Chicken franchise, which has over a dozen stores across Guyana; that franchise was followed Mario’s Pizza, Dairy Queen and Quiznos. Recently, his company Camex added the Pollo Tropical brand to the local market.
See full statement below:
Today a knife was stuck into my back by my own people. I have supported the PNC/APNU/APNU-AFC in every general election since I started voting. Carl Greenidge, Raphael Trotman, Cathy Hughes, Rupert Roopnarine and Lance Carberry can attest to this. This support ran into millions of dollars. I served this Coalition as Chairman at GNPL and turned that organization from losses to profit.
As a businessman I donate over G$1M per month to charitable causes. After a sordid incident between an Afro-Guyanese businessman and boys at a Georgetown school I took over a feeding program there almost a decade ago. I have also supported the Step By Step School for autistic children with monthly contributions for years. I have never publicized this as the God, the powerful God that I serve knows this.
To my mind the Coalition doesn’t stand a chance in a head to head with the PPP at this time. My entry into politics was purely to deny the PPP a majority and to push for constitutional reform. However, over the last week the polarization in Guyana made me realize that now isn’t the time for the kind of healing, centrist politics I envisaged. This was a point I shared with a few friends. Consequently, I resigned from RISE Guyana last Thursday and early this am I sent the following edited message to my friends at ANAUG
Gentlemen,
Forgive my insensitivity of opening this email on a secular matter with two Christian references. Ecclesiastes 3 teaches us that:
“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
In the Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13, Jesus recommends that we sow on good soil and not on rock or amongst thorns.
The vote Charrandas Persaud in the NCV has polarized Guyana. On the one hand, supporters of the Coalition believe the government has been felled by a corrupt bloodless coup totally in sync with their view of the PPP under its current leadership. On the other hand, PPP supporters see the Coalition’s refusal to resign as a reminder of the vote-rigging unlawful nature of the PNC. Then there are independent observers who believe the Coalition should resign based on convention but fail to recognize that there is no precedent for a similar vote by an Assembly made up of 40% disqualified members. The NCV has poisoned our soil.
The polarization is enough of a deterrent for any aspiring politician but there is more. For a new ‘independent’ party to be successful in this scenario, I believe it would need to compete under an umbrella with groups that broadly share its philosophical approach since time is short and resources are limited. It has also been suggested by one observer that ANAUG steering committee probably has three dual citizens. In fact this issue was raised with an ANAUG sympathizer yesterday. It is no secret that this is a matter of significant importance to me. I view the dual citizens in the Assembly as a flagrant violation of our Constitution.
All of the above has caused me considerable angst and I fail to see how I would be able to add value to the efforts of ANAUG in the days ahead. A good reading of the climate suggests that this is neither the time nor the place for me to sow my seeds.
Regards,
Terrence
It is interesting that Rickford Burke asked where I was during the PPP years and about my party. I said to him “stay tuned” since I would have been taking a pass on this period of dirty politics in Guyana and would have been making the announcement in a matter of hours. To my surprise, I received several messages with the pic below. I would like OneVoice Canwin to know that I serve a mighty God, a God that is able! That HE owns my business and only HE can topple it!
The campaign strategy of the Coalition is seriously misguided. It has been hijacked by dual citizens. Some of whom I helped in the past.
