By Robert A. Emmanuel
Two former Democratic National Alliance (DNA) members have officially confirmed they had applied to become members of the United Progressive Party (UPP).
Over the weekend, former DNA First Vice-Chairman Bruce Goodwin and the party’s former General Secretary Gatesworth James were spotted at the UPP ‘Pork-fest’ event held last week Friday, sources confirmed.
Following this, news reports circulated that Goodwin had officially joined the UPP, which our newsroom has independently confirmed.
Goodwin, who was also former ambassador to Cuba told Observer yesterday that while he was never a formal member of the country’s main opposition party, he has always maintained a close relation with the UPP since its inception.
“I have been involved in the politics of Antigua and Barbuda for a very long time … I was very prominently involved in the discussions—which lasted about a year—and led to the formation of the United Progressive Party through a merger of the three political parties then existing in opposition,” he said.
Goodwin who resigned from the DNA in October, maintained that his decision was not influenced by his attempts to have the DNA and the UPP “merge” as his former party leader, Joanne Massiah stated, but was based on Massiah’s own leadership skills.
“I was a member of the DNA from its inception and helped to bring the programme of that party to where it is today; however, as time went by, there was serious dissatisfaction with some of the leaders of the DNA,” he said.
UPP Political Leader, Harold Lovell also confirmed Goodwin’s application and welcomed him back into the fold.
“We are very pleased that Brother Bruce Goodwin has applied to the All Saints East and St Luke branch and he was accepted.
“We believe he brings tremendous talent and intellectual vigor and so we are very happy that he is with us and will help us in the fight to redeem Antigua and Barbuda,” Lovell said.
The UPP leader recently stated that he was willing to “roll out the blue carpet” for former DNA members who wanted to rejoin his party.
Goodwin was one of four members who have publicly resigned from the young political party over the last few months, citing leadership issues within the party’s hierarchy.
Along with Goodwin and James, the other DNA members who recently resigned were Malaka Parker and Kelton Dalso.
Meanwhile, James confirmed to Observer that he has applied to rejoin the UPP but Parker has not announced any intention to rejoin the UPP, stating that she will, instead, be focusing her time on her non-profit organisation.
Dalso has been on Observer in recent weeks criticising his former DNA colleagues.
Observer also reached out to DNA spokesperson, Chaneil Imhoff for a statement on the news, which she described as “not a surprise”.
“As we would have indicated in our past releases on their departures, they left the party because they wanted us to assimilate with the UPP and we were not about to do that.
“Their ambition was to dismantle the very organisation that they helped to build but we now have strong and united team,” she told Observer.
DNA Political Leader, Massiah, also commented stating that while she had not heard the comments made by Goodwin at the time of writing, she “rejects categorically” the claim of bad leadership and wished her former DNA members well.
“I will not go into his previous representations to us in the DNA [about] why he rejected the UPP, and their litany of failures as seen through his lens, however, he was the 1st Vice-Chair of the DNA and any reference to “bad leadership” must be a reference to himself given that he had long abdicated his responsibilities to the party,” she said.