‘My suspension was unjust’- says Vanessa Kissoon

• Says she is ready to return to progressive politics

Following a unanimous decision by the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), to lift the seven year suspension that was imposed on former parliamentarian Vanessa Kissoon, she said she is ready to return to formally serving the party of her heart, one that has set the stage for progressive politics. In a statement, Kissoon said the suspension which was a unilateral decision imposed by the party’s incumbent Leader, Brigadier (ret’d) David Granger, should never have happened in the first place. “The decision was taken without respecting my right to due process as a card bearing, financial member of the party. Seven years later, I wish to say that I have never left the party and deep in my heart I know the party of Cde. Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham has never left me. I have always held sacred the party’s founding principles and commitment to society. In spite of the unjust suspension, during the 2015 and 2020 General and Regional Elections, I worked my hardest to help deliver Region Ten to the PNCR,” Miss Kissoon said.

She took the opportunity to set the record straight regarding some misperceptions in the public’s domain. “Former General Secretary, Mr. Oscar Clarke, never slapped me…….I was never “recalled” from the National Assembly. I served my full term which came to an end at the prorogation of Parliament for the 2015 General and Regional Elections. Cde. Aubrey Norton and I have not spoken to each other since about 2014/2015.”

Miss Kissoon continued her role as a public figure during her suspension. Most recently, she spearheaded several protest actions in Linden against the mandatory vaccination policy; one of which led to the blocking of the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge. “I am not ashamed to say I am a grassroots politician because I connect to the people and the people connect to me. The democratic principles enshrined in the constitution of the party, allow me to express my opinions  on matters that  cause me concern, and as such I say with conviction, it is the abandonment of the grassroots, friends, and supporters, abandonment of years of network established by the PNCR from Cdes. Burnham to Desmond Hoyte to Robert Corbin, that have us where we are today, in shambles and divided by one who has no understanding of our political undertaking, no connection, no appreciation, no recognition, no compassion for the base of the party.”

The motion to lift her suspension, was tabled by Retired Rear Admiral Gary Best. It was reportedly seconded by Aubrey Norton, who is vying for the position of leader of the party.

The circumstances surrounding the suspension of Kissoon occurred in 2014, following an altercation between her and former General Secretary, Oscar Clarke, over control of the keys to the PNCR’s office in Linden.  It was then suggested that Mr. Granger allegedly used that incident to suspend her but wanted to do so since 2012 when Kissoon was accused of organizing a protest against him in Linden.