In Guyana, power greedy politicians have ensured the continued failure of the state to implement an inclusionary democracy, as is stated and required in Article 13 of our constitution. This failure is visible every day in the operation of our local neighbourhood democratic organ across Guyana which cannot mange themselves properly. The government has refused to truly implement local democracy, which would give the people full power to manage themselves.
Our constitution in words decentralizes the system of governance, by giving the local democratic neighbourhood councils the power to manage designated regions, towns and villages. The government is the one who continues to refuse to make these local democratic organs financially independent and therefore viable. It is clear that our country will not be managed properly if government continues to be greedy and refuses to financially empower these local democratic organs. Today our system is not working and it is the people of Guyana who are shortchanged and continue to suffer. This PPP Government are so consumed by this power that they are now attempting to make laws which will remove the Regional Executive Officer from being appointed by the Local Government Commission, which would be a violation of our constitution.
The Government has also deliberately refused to establish the Local Government Commission so that they can employ their party members as REO’s and have control over the financial resources of the Region. Parliament’s inability to establish this commission and to entrust the Regional Democratic Councils, who were elected by the people to manage the region is another serious failure which hinders the system.
The RDC’s must be charged with the power to employ, discipline or dismiss and the Courts must also have the power to reinstate any person who is dismissed wrongfully. The current trend that allows the Minister to hold power and dictate the operation of the commission is undemocratic. The old laws which give the Minister the power over these organs are now invalid given the amendment of the Constitution which made our local democratic organs autonomous. These organs are accountable to the people and the State and only the people through their representatives have the power over these organs, so let the people exercise it! When the Council fails in this regard the system must follow the laws of our land and ensure that our constitution is not violated.
For these organs to function properly the State must treat their Councillors with respect and as a paid servant of the state. The present Chairman of the NDC gets $5000 a month and the RDC Councillor gets $10,000. Most of these committees are not working because they are no incentives to work. A committed Councillor working hard to make a change cannot even get back his or her own money when you invest it to do RDC work in a timely manner, you are forced to wait for month. I had to move a motion for a better financial incentive for Councillor to work which was passed by the RDC of Region 4 on the 19 of December 2007, but they is no reply by the government. If these committees do not work, then the RDC cannot function properly as it is these committees, who do all checks and balances and report to the RDC.
We do not and should not have to wait until Local Government elections to put good systems in place.
Looking at crime I must say to my fellow Guyanese that it is a sad time for our people. Evil seems to be spreading in the minds of our people and our leaders in Government just don't know what to do. What they don't understand is that crime begins in the mind and it is only the mind that can stop the crime and poverty.
This is the essence of crime, crime starts in the home when they is no food to eat and fathers and mothers are not around to guide their children in the right direction, because both of them have to work, or they themselves do not have the knowledge and skills to guide they children in the right direction.
Most of our people are not educated to work in our current environment. Our education system does not look at our natural resources and educate person along those lines. Many of our young people out of school just don't know what to do because they come out of school with just the academic qualifications, lacking the skills to create jobs for themselves. They are too dependent on the state to create job for them. They find themselves waiting for years to find the perfect job creating a financial liability for the family in the process. Thousands of self employment opportunities exist, but these job opportunities are in the area of skilled trades, in which whatever you produce as long as the product is good, it will sell. Our main problem is the skills trade and marketing.
We need to educate our people in this direction. Our people also have to understand that when they get a job with a firm or company it is their duty to work to develop it because they earn from it. The business may not be yours but you still have to treat it as if it is. If the business fails then you have no job so any place we work it is our duty to see thing go aright. The only way out of poverty is to work so let us create people power for the development of our country. Do not allow the Government to do as they feel. Know your rights. Fight them in the Courts, the Court must work some times.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sharma now….who next ?
Guyana once again bleeds. This time not from marauding gunmen wantonly shooting at innocent civilians, but from an assault on the tenets of natural justice by the President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo. His unilateral decision to sit in judgment in a matter for which he was the subject of the complaint demonstrates a blatant disregard for fairness and equal treatment before the law. The Alliance For Change strongly condemns this disregard for the rule of law and this threat to the basic principles of democracy.
Strict adherence to the Rule of Law, Natural Justice and Fairness is the lifeblood of any democracy. It stands as the most important right in any community of men and women. It is that right which establishes and enhances the dignity of all people. The Government’s action was clearly intended to remove all forms of independent expression. This continues with access to our “national TV station” paid for by all Guyanese taxpayers, denied to opposition political parties and ordinary Guyanese. This continues in communities like Linden where choice is limited to the government TV station and where independent TV stations are repeatedly prevented from providing a service to this area. This censorship continues in government’s refusal to allow freedom of expression through the issuing of radio licenses. Where else in the Caribbean will you find one state run radio station in this age of communication!. Are the PPP afraid of competition? Is the right to different views and freedom of information not the basis of any true democracy? Such action by any Government therefore must be condemned and denounced.
This event is the latest on a long list of incidents that demonstrate the abuse of power and corrupt practices which have taken place in Guyana within the last week. These including the recent Fidelity/GRA fiasco and the helicopter scam which has seen the questionable expenditure of $300 Million of hard earned Guyanese taxpayer dollars. This is but a vindication of what the AFC has been saying namely that the PPP Jagdeo Government is on a slide back into dictatorship reminiscent of the worst days of the PNC Government.
The Alliance For Change maintains that the President is the one who contravened the Rule of Law when he usurped the function of the ACB, acted contrary to Regulation 10 of 2001 of the Telegraphy Regulations, and then decided to be a Judge in his own cause. It is as shameful as it is unlawful. The Alliance For Change sees this closure not only as an exhibition of unlawfulness and arrogance, and with the purpose to drive fear in the minds of critics, but also to divert attention from the rampant corruption and security crises which rage in our unhappy country.
Strict adherence to the Rule of Law, Natural Justice and Fairness is the lifeblood of any democracy. It stands as the most important right in any community of men and women. It is that right which establishes and enhances the dignity of all people. The Government’s action was clearly intended to remove all forms of independent expression. This continues with access to our “national TV station” paid for by all Guyanese taxpayers, denied to opposition political parties and ordinary Guyanese. This continues in communities like Linden where choice is limited to the government TV station and where independent TV stations are repeatedly prevented from providing a service to this area. This censorship continues in government’s refusal to allow freedom of expression through the issuing of radio licenses. Where else in the Caribbean will you find one state run radio station in this age of communication!. Are the PPP afraid of competition? Is the right to different views and freedom of information not the basis of any true democracy? Such action by any Government therefore must be condemned and denounced.
This event is the latest on a long list of incidents that demonstrate the abuse of power and corrupt practices which have taken place in Guyana within the last week. These including the recent Fidelity/GRA fiasco and the helicopter scam which has seen the questionable expenditure of $300 Million of hard earned Guyanese taxpayer dollars. This is but a vindication of what the AFC has been saying namely that the PPP Jagdeo Government is on a slide back into dictatorship reminiscent of the worst days of the PNC Government.
The Alliance For Change maintains that the President is the one who contravened the Rule of Law when he usurped the function of the ACB, acted contrary to Regulation 10 of 2001 of the Telegraphy Regulations, and then decided to be a Judge in his own cause. It is as shameful as it is unlawful. The Alliance For Change sees this closure not only as an exhibition of unlawfulness and arrogance, and with the purpose to drive fear in the minds of critics, but also to divert attention from the rampant corruption and security crises which rage in our unhappy country.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT UPSET WITH VENEZUELA? by Raphael Trotman
Of all the things that the Government of Guyana could be expressing outrage at, they have decided to register a protest over Venezuela’s decision to donate food and supplies to the people of Buxton. Once again these goodly people of Buxton are caught up in a political game which they did not invite on themselves. Once before they were caught in a tense diplomatic incident which almost led to the deployment of US troops in the village when the US Embassy’s Regional Security Officer was kidnapped in what was dubbed the “Lesniak affair”. Today it is the food affair. The donation by the Venezuelan Embassy was of food stuff and targeted specifically at displaced Buxton farmers who are unable to access their farm lands.
There is hypocrisy on all sides. This is the same government that has recently misled the nation regarding the facts surrounding the purchase of helicopters; that has declared Buxton to be the venomous nest of all the criminals in Guyana and has failed to deliver any criminals after launching Operation Restore Order; that has shielded Ministers of the Government from prosecution for public disorder; that has been less than honest about the reason why there has been no enquiry into the death of Walter Rodney; that has proclaimed that there is no evidence of corruption or discrimination and marginalization in Guyana; and that has proclaimed that GPL is in good shape and is not in need of an investigation. This is the pot calling the kettle black.
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was obviously insensitive, and deliberately provocative, in making a donation to the people of Buxton without first informing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is so because of the known security complexities that exists both between our two states, and with regard to Buxton itself. But was this gift such a serious breach of protocol after all, or is it that the Government of Guyana is more embarrassed that a foreign government is providing aid which it refuses to offer to its own citizens? Venezuela has been doling out aid and assistance all over South America and even in the United States where it has run a successful programme through the Venezuelan State owned oil company CITGO, which provides heating fuel to underprivileged people of America every winter. In fact, after rampant poverty and social inequality were exposed by Hurricane Katrina there is absolutely nothing that the US government can and will do to stop the programme. An elderly African-American woman who benefited from the CITGO programme says in a testimonial on their website “Until this program came along, I was using my gas stove and oven to heat my house. The fuel oil I'll get through CITGO and Catholic Charities will be a big savings. It'll tide me over for the rest of the winter."
Where there are underprivileged people with real needs, others will step in either with purely altruistic motives, or with some hidden agenda. Every day, I see different Embassies and their associated agencies giving aid and assistance to NGOs, individuals, and to Government agencies without a murmur from our Government. Foreign governments are helping with the reintegration of deportees to society, the making of traffic signs, and the establishment of cold storage facilities for big businesses without any fuss from the Guyana government. The big question then to be asked is what is it about the Venezuelan gift that has so upset the Jagdeo government? It must be that this gift will highlight the suffering of the Buxtonian people in an international way that will drive home the point that Guyana’s security dilemma is caught up in poverty, ethnic cleavages and insecurities, a bad system of governance that allows the perpetuation of these, and of bad governance itself.
Anyone who has walked the streets and dams of Buxton would know what a besieged community feels like. On a recent visit I remarked that it is the closest that I personally have come to a community that is subdued and lifeless. There was dead quiet, no dogs barking, no children playing in the streets, no music or cricket on the radio to be heard- just silence and an army vehicle with ranks filming every step members of our team took. Can you image meeting a 32 year old resident of the community, whose house was no more than a twenty minute walk from the railway embankment road and he has never had running water in the home he grew up in and still lives in today!
The people of Buxton deserve far more than handouts of food and if some friends come along and offer it to them, they are quite entitled to accept the relief. This intervention by the Venezuelan government has embarrassed the Government of Guyana because it has exposed several facts including, that there is a genuine need within the Buxton/Friendship communities, and that the heavy presence of the military and the bulldozing of the backlands and the compensation of a few hundred dollars for bearing plants is suffocating the lives of the people there. What the Government is doing is killing the spirit of a proud, capable, and strong community. Instead of complaining, they should be embarrassed into leading the way.
The Venezuelan government puts up no pretense of its obvious intentions to displace the United States’ influence in this Hemisphere, and we all have to guard against receiving “gift horses” from any nation that could someday come alive and run rampant through our state. The cold war may be over but there is the growing influence of Venezuela seeking to act as a countervailing force against the United States of America. I have often cautioned that if we are ignored by the Western States for meeting our security and social needs then others will quickly fill the vacuum. The words of the Venezuelan Ambassador as reported in one newspaper sums up his Government’s intentions thus: “Our support does not always have to be food, we can provide things to help you produce and help in the social development of the people”.
Our advantage of being the only English Speaking nation with a small population occupying natural wealth of immeasurable value, will make us a pawn in this latest battle for influence and control of scarce resources such as oil and water.
However, because we have no discernable Foreign Policy doctrine governing our relations with Venezuela and other neighbours, this government has left itself exposed for these interventions to be made. For many years members of the Opposition have been pressing the Government of Guyana to adumbrate in precise terms what is the official policy towards Venezuela. We seem to prefer to operate in a holding pattern by not wanting to enrage our neighbour even in the face of serious transgressions such as when Persram Persaud was shot in the Cuyuni River two years ago and two dredges were recently blown up. It is always one of playing things down. This may explain for example why no official claim was made for compensation for the family of Persram Persaud or the dredge owners.
I for one am very suspicious of Venezuela’s motives and conduct towards Guyana and do not regard that government as Guyana’s best friend, but today, I have to say thank you not only for the gifts, but also for exposing the unmet needs of one of many communities. The Government of Guyana was better off making a quiet protest to the Venezuelan Ambassador rather than embarrassing itself and the citizens further by making it public. Unfortunately, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs had to get her hands burnt on the first day of the job over the ineptitude and mismanagement of other government ministries and agencies.
In closing, I wish to congratulate the new Minister of Foreign Affairs Mrs. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, and her successor at the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs Ms. Pauline Campbell-Sukhai. I have worked in Parliament with these women for many years and found them to be hard working and dedicated to Guyana even though we don’t see eye to eye on many matters. All women in Guyana should be proud. For Carolyn Rodrigues in particular, I wish to say that I hold her in high esteem and would be less than honest if I did not express my view that I harbour strong reservations as to her capacity to discharge the duties required of this office especially for a small, vulnerable, and sometimes threatened state such as Guyana. I hope she is up to the challenges and snares of foreign affairs and foreign policy management especially when other members of the cabinet will make her job increasingly impossible to complete. Nevertheless I say to her good luck and best wishes and I look forward to engaging her in the parliamentary arena.
There is hypocrisy on all sides. This is the same government that has recently misled the nation regarding the facts surrounding the purchase of helicopters; that has declared Buxton to be the venomous nest of all the criminals in Guyana and has failed to deliver any criminals after launching Operation Restore Order; that has shielded Ministers of the Government from prosecution for public disorder; that has been less than honest about the reason why there has been no enquiry into the death of Walter Rodney; that has proclaimed that there is no evidence of corruption or discrimination and marginalization in Guyana; and that has proclaimed that GPL is in good shape and is not in need of an investigation. This is the pot calling the kettle black.
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was obviously insensitive, and deliberately provocative, in making a donation to the people of Buxton without first informing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is so because of the known security complexities that exists both between our two states, and with regard to Buxton itself. But was this gift such a serious breach of protocol after all, or is it that the Government of Guyana is more embarrassed that a foreign government is providing aid which it refuses to offer to its own citizens? Venezuela has been doling out aid and assistance all over South America and even in the United States where it has run a successful programme through the Venezuelan State owned oil company CITGO, which provides heating fuel to underprivileged people of America every winter. In fact, after rampant poverty and social inequality were exposed by Hurricane Katrina there is absolutely nothing that the US government can and will do to stop the programme. An elderly African-American woman who benefited from the CITGO programme says in a testimonial on their website “Until this program came along, I was using my gas stove and oven to heat my house. The fuel oil I'll get through CITGO and Catholic Charities will be a big savings. It'll tide me over for the rest of the winter."
Where there are underprivileged people with real needs, others will step in either with purely altruistic motives, or with some hidden agenda. Every day, I see different Embassies and their associated agencies giving aid and assistance to NGOs, individuals, and to Government agencies without a murmur from our Government. Foreign governments are helping with the reintegration of deportees to society, the making of traffic signs, and the establishment of cold storage facilities for big businesses without any fuss from the Guyana government. The big question then to be asked is what is it about the Venezuelan gift that has so upset the Jagdeo government? It must be that this gift will highlight the suffering of the Buxtonian people in an international way that will drive home the point that Guyana’s security dilemma is caught up in poverty, ethnic cleavages and insecurities, a bad system of governance that allows the perpetuation of these, and of bad governance itself.
Anyone who has walked the streets and dams of Buxton would know what a besieged community feels like. On a recent visit I remarked that it is the closest that I personally have come to a community that is subdued and lifeless. There was dead quiet, no dogs barking, no children playing in the streets, no music or cricket on the radio to be heard- just silence and an army vehicle with ranks filming every step members of our team took. Can you image meeting a 32 year old resident of the community, whose house was no more than a twenty minute walk from the railway embankment road and he has never had running water in the home he grew up in and still lives in today!
The people of Buxton deserve far more than handouts of food and if some friends come along and offer it to them, they are quite entitled to accept the relief. This intervention by the Venezuelan government has embarrassed the Government of Guyana because it has exposed several facts including, that there is a genuine need within the Buxton/Friendship communities, and that the heavy presence of the military and the bulldozing of the backlands and the compensation of a few hundred dollars for bearing plants is suffocating the lives of the people there. What the Government is doing is killing the spirit of a proud, capable, and strong community. Instead of complaining, they should be embarrassed into leading the way.
The Venezuelan government puts up no pretense of its obvious intentions to displace the United States’ influence in this Hemisphere, and we all have to guard against receiving “gift horses” from any nation that could someday come alive and run rampant through our state. The cold war may be over but there is the growing influence of Venezuela seeking to act as a countervailing force against the United States of America. I have often cautioned that if we are ignored by the Western States for meeting our security and social needs then others will quickly fill the vacuum. The words of the Venezuelan Ambassador as reported in one newspaper sums up his Government’s intentions thus: “Our support does not always have to be food, we can provide things to help you produce and help in the social development of the people”.
Our advantage of being the only English Speaking nation with a small population occupying natural wealth of immeasurable value, will make us a pawn in this latest battle for influence and control of scarce resources such as oil and water.
However, because we have no discernable Foreign Policy doctrine governing our relations with Venezuela and other neighbours, this government has left itself exposed for these interventions to be made. For many years members of the Opposition have been pressing the Government of Guyana to adumbrate in precise terms what is the official policy towards Venezuela. We seem to prefer to operate in a holding pattern by not wanting to enrage our neighbour even in the face of serious transgressions such as when Persram Persaud was shot in the Cuyuni River two years ago and two dredges were recently blown up. It is always one of playing things down. This may explain for example why no official claim was made for compensation for the family of Persram Persaud or the dredge owners.
I for one am very suspicious of Venezuela’s motives and conduct towards Guyana and do not regard that government as Guyana’s best friend, but today, I have to say thank you not only for the gifts, but also for exposing the unmet needs of one of many communities. The Government of Guyana was better off making a quiet protest to the Venezuelan Ambassador rather than embarrassing itself and the citizens further by making it public. Unfortunately, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs had to get her hands burnt on the first day of the job over the ineptitude and mismanagement of other government ministries and agencies.
In closing, I wish to congratulate the new Minister of Foreign Affairs Mrs. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, and her successor at the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs Ms. Pauline Campbell-Sukhai. I have worked in Parliament with these women for many years and found them to be hard working and dedicated to Guyana even though we don’t see eye to eye on many matters. All women in Guyana should be proud. For Carolyn Rodrigues in particular, I wish to say that I hold her in high esteem and would be less than honest if I did not express my view that I harbour strong reservations as to her capacity to discharge the duties required of this office especially for a small, vulnerable, and sometimes threatened state such as Guyana. I hope she is up to the challenges and snares of foreign affairs and foreign policy management especially when other members of the cabinet will make her job increasingly impossible to complete. Nevertheless I say to her good luck and best wishes and I look forward to engaging her in the parliamentary arena.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
"The National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana, like the country itself is at the cross roads." by Sheila Holder, MP
The National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana, like the country itself is at the cross roads. While at one level genuine efforts are being made to attain for this institution the premiere place the Constitution assigns it, insecure forces within the PPP/C are at work retarding those efforts.
Regrettably, in the eyes of citizens this situation has courted not only the belief that the National Assembly is a waste of time but also that efforts made by Members of Parliament generally are of little benefit to them.
Given this perception it should come as no surprise that the AFC has been accused from time to time by various letter writers and columnists of investing too much time in the National Assembly, of failing to understand the political reality that little or nothing could be achieved in the National Assembly given the majoritarian attitude of the governing party, thus warning the AFC was heading for the road of oblivion traversed by other third parties before it;
And more recently, the AFC was accused of betraying the National Stakeholder’s Agreement by walking out of parliament because the Government refused to incorporate in the Motion Article 13 of the Constitution and which item 3 & 4 of the Stakeholder’s agreement with President Jagdeo spoke to – namely: -
Item (3) Convene and activate the Parliamentary Constitutional Reform Committee to address issues presently before it and to examine further areas for constitutional reform;
Item (4) Ensure meaningful and effective participation of civil society in these parliamentary processes.
How could the AFC be accused of betraying the stakeholder’s when, along with the other opposition parliamentary parties, we responded to the invitation of the Prime Minister to propose amendments to the National Stakeholder’s Motion standing in his name and proposed that which items (3) & (4) of the Stakeholder’s statement with President Jagdeo encapsulated in their press release. And when our Representatives, Messrs David Patterson and Everall Franklyn, proposed in discussions with Ms Gail Teixeira on the matter that we go back to the stakeholders for their concurrence with the inclusions we proposed and that were being rejected by the Government?
The reality is there’s a nexus between these Constitutional governance issues we proposed and the public safety and security issues which the stakeholder’s want addressed. A 2007 World Bank study on gun violence stated that with a reduction in crime rates, the Caricom region would see a 5.4% rise in their economy. Given these realities it was incumbent on the AFC as a responsible parliamentary opposition party to jolt the PPPC Government into understanding that the continued misuse of the State media and their refusal to activate Article 13 of the Constitution was thwarting the Constitution, the democratic process and putting us all at further risk.
As a responsible parliamentary party it is also incumbent on us to enlighten Mr. Kenneth Joseph, the General Secretary of FITUG, and citizens who desire to see Guyana take the road to some semblance of democratic stability to ensure that the PPPC Government they elected maintain its part of the social compact to exercise fairly and responsibly, the temporary use of governmental powers which was given to them.
The expression of displeasure with the AFC for ‘walking out of Parliament’ highlights that it is incumbent on civil society to ascertain the truth and not fall prey to the propagandistic misuse of the State media by the PPPC in misrepresenting the facts while acting tyrannically in the National Assembly to give cause for such action; and perhaps others which leaders such as Dr. Cheddie Jagan took when in anger and frustration he threw down the law books and the Mace, a symbol of the Speaker’s authority.
What has FITUG and those who criticized the AFC have to say about the disregard demonstrated for the authority of the Speaker when recently in the National Assembly Ministers Clement Rohee, MP and Ashni Singh, MP challenged his authority? When last Wednesday, March 26 Prime Minister Sam Hinds brazenly vocalized contempt for the National Assembly held by the PPPC Government in their decision to arbitrarily overturn the decision of the National Assembly as per Resolution No. 69 which was passed in the National Assembly two and a half years ago calling for a full and impartial investigation into the death of Dr. Walter Rodney. And further, when he as Prime Minister misrepresented Dr. Patricia Rodney and her children’s position on their desire for Dr. Walter Rodney’s death to be investigated. Now let the ‘Peeping Tom’ and FITUG tell us who is ‘sending the wrong message’ and ‘who should apologise to the Stakeholders’.
As stated in all of its press releases on the matter, the AFC stands firmly committed to honouring the Stakeholder’s Agreement and expect implementation of its specific terms and all consequential matters thereon and remains ready and willing to proceed on the basis of sincerity, trust and respect.
Regrettably, in the eyes of citizens this situation has courted not only the belief that the National Assembly is a waste of time but also that efforts made by Members of Parliament generally are of little benefit to them.
Given this perception it should come as no surprise that the AFC has been accused from time to time by various letter writers and columnists of investing too much time in the National Assembly, of failing to understand the political reality that little or nothing could be achieved in the National Assembly given the majoritarian attitude of the governing party, thus warning the AFC was heading for the road of oblivion traversed by other third parties before it;
And more recently, the AFC was accused of betraying the National Stakeholder’s Agreement by walking out of parliament because the Government refused to incorporate in the Motion Article 13 of the Constitution and which item 3 & 4 of the Stakeholder’s agreement with President Jagdeo spoke to – namely: -
Item (3) Convene and activate the Parliamentary Constitutional Reform Committee to address issues presently before it and to examine further areas for constitutional reform;
Item (4) Ensure meaningful and effective participation of civil society in these parliamentary processes.
How could the AFC be accused of betraying the stakeholder’s when, along with the other opposition parliamentary parties, we responded to the invitation of the Prime Minister to propose amendments to the National Stakeholder’s Motion standing in his name and proposed that which items (3) & (4) of the Stakeholder’s statement with President Jagdeo encapsulated in their press release. And when our Representatives, Messrs David Patterson and Everall Franklyn, proposed in discussions with Ms Gail Teixeira on the matter that we go back to the stakeholders for their concurrence with the inclusions we proposed and that were being rejected by the Government?
The reality is there’s a nexus between these Constitutional governance issues we proposed and the public safety and security issues which the stakeholder’s want addressed. A 2007 World Bank study on gun violence stated that with a reduction in crime rates, the Caricom region would see a 5.4% rise in their economy. Given these realities it was incumbent on the AFC as a responsible parliamentary opposition party to jolt the PPPC Government into understanding that the continued misuse of the State media and their refusal to activate Article 13 of the Constitution was thwarting the Constitution, the democratic process and putting us all at further risk.
As a responsible parliamentary party it is also incumbent on us to enlighten Mr. Kenneth Joseph, the General Secretary of FITUG, and citizens who desire to see Guyana take the road to some semblance of democratic stability to ensure that the PPPC Government they elected maintain its part of the social compact to exercise fairly and responsibly, the temporary use of governmental powers which was given to them.
The expression of displeasure with the AFC for ‘walking out of Parliament’ highlights that it is incumbent on civil society to ascertain the truth and not fall prey to the propagandistic misuse of the State media by the PPPC in misrepresenting the facts while acting tyrannically in the National Assembly to give cause for such action; and perhaps others which leaders such as Dr. Cheddie Jagan took when in anger and frustration he threw down the law books and the Mace, a symbol of the Speaker’s authority.
What has FITUG and those who criticized the AFC have to say about the disregard demonstrated for the authority of the Speaker when recently in the National Assembly Ministers Clement Rohee, MP and Ashni Singh, MP challenged his authority? When last Wednesday, March 26 Prime Minister Sam Hinds brazenly vocalized contempt for the National Assembly held by the PPPC Government in their decision to arbitrarily overturn the decision of the National Assembly as per Resolution No. 69 which was passed in the National Assembly two and a half years ago calling for a full and impartial investigation into the death of Dr. Walter Rodney. And further, when he as Prime Minister misrepresented Dr. Patricia Rodney and her children’s position on their desire for Dr. Walter Rodney’s death to be investigated. Now let the ‘Peeping Tom’ and FITUG tell us who is ‘sending the wrong message’ and ‘who should apologise to the Stakeholders’.
As stated in all of its press releases on the matter, the AFC stands firmly committed to honouring the Stakeholder’s Agreement and expect implementation of its specific terms and all consequential matters thereon and remains ready and willing to proceed on the basis of sincerity, trust and respect.
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