KN’s editorial in line with PPP’s propaganda

Dear Editor,
I REFER to the Kaieteur News editorial of Monday, May 15, 2017, captioned: “The Cummingsburg Accord.” The editorial took the position that the AFC was shortchanged, and now finds itself in a position of being “…Overwhelmed by the Coalition.” It also stated that “Almost all major government decisions are made by its larger PNC partner in the coalition government.” It is instructive to note that this line of thinking in the editorial is consistent with the PPP’s propaganda, which is intended to exploit Indian racial/political sensitivity, and to discredit the APNU+AFC coalition Government.

I wish to make it clear that the intention of my letter is not to accuse Kaieteur News of pandering to the PPP. However, it is my contention that the editorial’s lack of objectivity makes KN’s position on APNU+AFC relations, indistinguishable from that propagandised by the PPP and Indian rights activists.
It was very clear after reading the editorial that the primary purpose of it is to sow seeds of discord in the coalition. The message that is being conveyed is that the AFC, like the UF in the 1964 PNC/UF coalition, is in real danger of being extinguished as a political force, if strategic and tactical changes do not take place in the Cummingsburg Accord. It seems to be pushing the AFC to ensure that these changes take place as a matter of urgency.

The editorial’s reference to Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s statement, “After two years in office, things have changed and the AFC is of the belief that the time has come for the Cummingsburg Accord to be renegotiated,” and the statement by the writer of the editorial, “It appears that the AFC has only now found out that it has little say in the coalition government, which is dominated by the PNC,” underscores my point.
My view that the editorial lacks objectivity is further enhanced by its failure to (1) address the question- whether the AFC delivered to the coalition the votes in the 2015 General and Regional elections, which it claimed it would do in the Cummingsburg Accord negotiations? (2) To take into consideration that the AFC did not bring significant votes to the coalition in the last local government elections, even with its tremendous governmental power.

Any objective analysis of APNU+AFC relations since the coalition came to office, makes it imperative that the following question be asked: does the electoral performance of the AFC at the 2015 General and Regional Elections and the 2016 Local Government elections justify renegotiating the accord to give the AFC more power than it got from the 60/40 arrangement when the Accord was first agreed?
To advocate that the AFC has been shortchanged and not factor into the equation the fact that in the present governance arrangement that party has control of most of the key ministries that relate to business, production and employment opportunities is to demonstrate a skewed analytical mind.

Professor Clive Thomas, speaking at a Walter Rodney event at the National Library in June, 2016, made the observation that the Cummingsburg Accord is probably the only coalition agreement in the world in which the senior partner has conceded most of the key ministries in the government to the junior partner.
I raise these issues in an attempt to introduce balance in the debate, since the editorial has failed to do so. I am of the view that it is only when the AFC committee, which is mandated to study the Cummingsburg Accord has completed its work and the party makes public its position on the committee’s findings, will members of the public be able to debate this matter in a constructive way.

It seems to me that the position of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo that the Accord needs to be “renegotiated” given the experiences over the last two years, is somewhat duplicitous, in that it did not make clear whether the proposed revisiting of the Accord is intended to change the present balance of power in the coalition or, is intended to inform the party‘s approach to future negotiations for the 2020 General and Regional Elections. Without having the benefit of the AFC’s wisdom on this issue, I am sure that party’s leadership — given the now known reality of the AFC’s electoral standing — must be aware that in re-opening the negotiations, it will be hard pressed to justify its claim to the 60/40 power arrangement, much less increase it.

Regards
Tacuma Ogunseye

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