Political veteran and former advisor to the David Granger-led administration, Fredrick McWilfred, has underscored the right of every political party to cater to the needs of its base in order to ensure survival in government.
Sharing his personal views on the television programme Political Insights last Monday, McWilfred rejected racist assertions made against the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). He argued that the party has been doing what every political entity ought to do to secure its political foundation.
“It is not racism,” McWilfred insisted. “What the PPP is doing is not racist…what they are doing is securing their political base and no one can fault them for that. Who stopped Granger from securing his political base in the 2015/2020 period,” McWilfred questioned.
He contended that no one prevented the former president, but that Granger himself refused to deliver benefits to his supporters. The former advisor further accused Granger of dismantling the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, alleging that coalition partners had no real influence in government decision-making. He maintained that the former president failed to heed advice and neglected to hold critical meetings and engagements that could have provided much-needed insights.
McWilfred stressed that when a political party receives support, it comes with expectations, and failure to meet those expectations could spell disaster.
Addressing disparaging remarks about PPP supporters, McWilfred asserted: “the fact of the matter is that when people support you politically, they look forward to some kind of benefit regardless of who they are or where they are. Businessmen support political parties because they are looking for business, the ordinary people vote for you because they feel when you get into office they will be assisted. And one of the unfortunate things about the Granger administration is they paid very little attention to the political base of the People’s National Congress.”
McWilfred said he spent considerable time engaging with ordinary members of the PNC who were in urgent need of assistance but saw little effort by the party to support its base. In his view, this neglect—among other issues—led to the downfall of the Granger administration, while the PPP continues to consolidate and expand its political strength.
