Speeches in the National Assembly

Mrs. Backer: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise to move the motion standing in my name entitled ‘Sympathy on the Death of Mr. Everall Franklin’. Everall Franklin, or if I can dispense with formality, “Everall” as I knew him, was born on the 1st of March, 1959 in England and he died on the 30th day of November, 2012 at the still youthful age of 52 in Guyana- the country that he made his own.
Mr. Franklin attended North Georgetown Secondary School in the 1970s and in 1977, he was among eight students who were awarded government scholarships to study in the then East, Germany. In fact, our own Minister, the Hon. Member Mr. Robeson Benn was among those eight students who travelled to the then East, Germany to study. Upon completion and having obtained his Masters in Chemistry, Mr. Franklin returned to Guyana in 1984 and fulfilled his contractual five-year period of employment with the Government of Guyana by working with the Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology (IAST) as a Chemist. He also worked at Minerals and Chemicals Ltd, a company involved in the mining processing and export of silica sand. He then formed his own company- Franklin Singh Disposal Services. At a more appropriate time, perhaps, I can share with some Members the name Franklin Singh Disposal Services.
I first met Mr. Franklin in late 1977 when he returned to Guyana, having travelled to far East, Germany sometime around September. He returned near Christmas of 1977 due to the untimely death of his father so as to pay his final farewell to him. Mr. Franklin on that return trip to Guyana had brought a letter for me. In those days we communicated by letter rather than by email et cetera. Mr. Franklin had brought a letter for me from someone in East, Germany whom I then had a particular interest in. Unless the records do not accurately reflect it, that person was not the Hon. Minister Benn. I say that because Mr. Benn would know who it is and we have all been friends since then. That is the point that I wanted to make. I have also known the Hon. Minister Benn since 1977 and we have been friends since then and we continue to be friends.
Like most Guyanese, Mr. Franklin was very interested in politics and he also had, like most Guyanese, a great knowledge in politics. Sometimes, I believe the people outside of this House have more knowledge than we do. From 1994 when I entered formal politics to 2006 when Mr. Franklin, himself, became a Member of this August House we had many lively discussions about Guyana, a country that we both loved and still love. I suspect and am sure it is a country that all of us here still love. This may surprise the Government’s Chief Whip that in those lively conversations between myself and Mr. Franklin on many occasions he out-spoke me. During these conversations that I have had with Mr. Franklin he often bemoaned the fact that the “two political elephants” as he called us, which is the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R), spent too much time working against each other to the detriment of Guyana, rather than working with each other for the benefit of Guyana.
Having been elected to the National Assembly following the 2006 General and Regional Elections, he told me that he was going to do his best to make a difference in this House. In reading the 35 or more presentations that he made during his almost five years stay in the 9th Parliament, I can say that he did his best. He called “a spade a spade” and on several occasions he praised both the PPP/Civic and the PNC/Reform and also on several occasions he criticised, as I said, what he referred to as “the two elephants” in the room.
Mr. Franklin’s contributions to the debates during the Ninth Parliament were almost always short and to the point; he rarely needed an extension. Being an army of one, so to speak, because he represented the Guyana Action Party (GAP), he had no Chief Whip to restrain him. He moved from one side of the divide to the other as he saw it necessary. There was no Chief Whip and in fact, he was his own Whip, if there was any. As he continued to witness what he saw as the unnecessary negativity and mistrust in this House, he became more convinced that a government of national unity was the political system of governance that would best lead Guyana to political, social and economic stability. It was therefore not surprising that he used all his influence to convince his party- the Guyana Action Party- that joining A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was the best way forward. He did it not for him, nor for the PNC/Reform, but for all the people of Guyana.
Though not in the best of health at the time of the declaration Mr. Franklin was present at Pegasus in a wheelchair and he made an impassioned speech as to why we needed to move forward together. He was too ill to attend the formal launch of APNU on the 15th of July of last year at the Convention Centre, but his heart was with us. I believe and I am confident that his heart is still with us.
For us in APNU the greatest gift that we can give to Mr. Franklin is to continue to work tirelessly towards the achievement of a government of national unity. We may feel that with the rupture that has taken place in our society recently that that is impossible. It may seem impossible. We of APNU are satisfied that it is not impossible. In fact, we are satisfied that it remains a very possible reality. For us, the greatest gift that we can give him, as I said, is to continue to work tirelessly towards that achievement. It is a gift that A Partnership for National Unity is determined to deliver to him though posthumously.
In closing, we, the members of APNU, would want to express and we do express our profound grief and we extend our sincerest condolences to “Everall” who departed life on the 30th of November, 2011. My information is that at the time of his death he was not aware of the results of the just concluded elections. I think that those results would have given him more hope, not hope that one side had one or that one side had lost, but the hope that with that new configuration of all parties and all sides of the divide will continue to work and increase their efforts to make Guyana the place that not only “Everall” dreamt of and continues to dream of, but that all of us dream off. May his soul continue to rest in peace.

Mrs. Backer (replying): Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. As I was looking through Mr. Franklin presentations, one such stood out and that was during, as I close, the 2007 debate where in trying to speak about the economic harshness that some people have to go through and difficult choices that people had to make, he inadvertently incurred the wrath of the women in the House when he made reference to women perhaps sometimes having to make choices that will lead to them being unfaithful and there was an uproar. Poor Mr. Franklin was taken by surprise because he was so quiet and unassuming, general. To show the kind of person he was, not only did he apologise unequivocally and withdrew the statement, but on the next day he brought chocolates for all the women in the National Assembly. I do not think any other man and there are many who have made mistakes in this House baring none, have ever done that. I see you smiling Mr. Speaker, I did not mean to include you in that.
Mr. Speaker: I remember what you told me years ago that you know when a man is lying when his lips move.
Mrs. Backer: Yes, but Mr. Franklin came and he offered chocolates to everyone. I think before that, we all loved him and after that we continue to love him even more. It is with great pleasure that I move this motion. Thank you.