Dear Editor,

After the last NEC meeting of the PNP it occurred to me that the party has way more problems than our leaders are willing to admit to. The fact is we are woefully deficient on clear-minded leadership, the result of which is a party with no plan, no vision and no sense of direction. At the last NEC meeting, many comrades put their faith in the ongoing Commission of Enquiry where Senator KD Knight has batted well for the PNP.

We are living in a fool’s paradise if we think the Commission of Enquiry, set up by Bruce Golding himself, will lead us into victory next year. We have serious problems and we need to address them now. The 2008 Professor Brian Meeks et al report into the 2007 loss of the general election by the PNP needs to be dusted off, read and the recommendations adopted. The youth movement in the party, for example, needs a major overhaul. The JLP’s G2K is way ahead in terms of the refined calibre of their leadership, membership and frequent publicity. They are busy on the college campuses recruiting like crazy, all over the internet and building bases overseas. The PNPYO is now defined by ill-informed reactionary populist agendas and the Patriots are pretty much defunct.

The Meeks report said in part, “The present bifurcation (division) of the PNPYO and Patriots needs to be rethought. Perhaps the party needs to abandon both and establish new-look youth organisations with fresh credentials and a clean break with the recent past.” It also said, “The party might wish to consider establishing a PNP students’ association specifically to focus on the recruitment and mobilisation of tertiary-level students; and a PNP young professionals association to focus on the recruitment and mobilisation of young professionals and entrepreneurs”.

Where are we with these recommendations, Comrade Leader?

S Williams

Kingston