GUYANA is celebrated today for its “new-wave” democracy, where the framework to protect entitlements of not just the present but future generations under a Natural Resources Fund and a Green-State Development Strategy is being put in place.

For those of us who believe in transforming our freedom in both political and socio-economic forms, this is like a dream becoming true. We are closer today to achieving a democratic system of governance with sustainable economic growth than ever before.

 POWERFUL SURGES
Powerful surges in our new-wave democracy have been open and credible national and local-government elections, a free media and an independent Parliament.

When the House went into recess on August 10, it had already met for 96 sittings in the first three years of the 11^th Parliament (2015-2020); call it the Granger Presidency. By the end of 2018, sittings are likely to surpass 110, when the National Assembly would debate the 2019 National Budget, including consideration of estimates for constitutional and statutory agencies.

These sittings under the APNU+AFC Coalition Government would be the single highest number in the first three years of any parliament since 1992. Though truncated, there were only 62 sittings during the 7^th (1997-2001) Parliament (Janet Jagan Presidency), and 88 sittings during the 2011-2014 Parliament (Donald Ramotar Presidency).

The research on those sittings show as follows:-

6^th Parliament: 17^th Dec., 1992 to 28^th Oct., 1997

7^th Parliament: 26^th Feb., 1998 to 13 Feb., 2001

8^th Parliament: 4^th May, 2001 to 2^nd May, 2006

9^th Parliament: 28^th Sept., 2006 to 22 Sept., 2011

10^th Parliament: 12^th Jan., 2012 to 10^th July, 2014

DORMANT PARLIAMENT?
You could imagine how disappointed I felt when I read a Kaieteur News columnist saying: “There have been very few sittings of the House for 2018”, and that Guyana has a “dormant Parliament”.

Seriously?

Though the bigger picture is up for debate on the Green Paper that proposes the fiscal rule for accessing, using, investing and saving revenues from our petroleum resources, it is unfortunate that critics are preoccupied with raking up and distorting small issues.

This pastime is not an academic deficit, but is either just pure laziness to research the facts, or idle pursuit of a mistaken belief in the Goebbelsian lie that, if repeated often, could be believed as the truth.

The fallacy regarding fewer parliamentary sittings has been peddled by the Opposition, but it did not catch on. So, like a relay in a marathon race of falsehoods, the KN writer took up the bruised baton, and ran with it.

The absence of the Leader of Government Business in the House did not prevent the National Assembly from meeting on August 8 last for very important national matters. After that sitting, the House went into scheduled recess for two months.

 LEAVING JURISDICTION
It had become necessary for me to leave the jurisdiction for a much-delayed medical check-up, since I had triple heart by-pass surgery six months ago. I concede that “private business” didn’t quite explain why I travelled overseas. But I can assure you that it was not on a folly in order to sabotage the Parliament.

On that occasion, I spent 65 days (just over two months) undergoing medical procedures and rehabilitation. That was the first time in over 25 years, and while I held public office, that I travelled overseas for medical attention.

But the KN columnist insisted, again, that I had gone away for three months, which caused Parliament to be crippled.

It is baffling how some otherwise intelligent folks would give a crooked spin to the truth. I understand why the Opposition is doing it, having refined the Big Lie to get sympathy, both as victim and a pathetic loser.

That was clear when I moved a Motion for an Opposition MP to be sent to the Privileges Committee for contemptuous conduct. The Opposition quickly bawled that it would file a complaint with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the United Nations Human Rights Committee that freedom of expression was being suppressed in our Parliament.

 WHEN I LOSE, I WIN
Again, when the government tabled the Cybercrime Bill in Parliament for passage, Opposition MPs hollered that the effort to combat the misuse of computers for criminal purposes, including terrorism, was intended to deny young people access to the Internet. They stitched in an unreal image of Guyana being overrun by all manner of repressive acts in order to whip up external pity.

In regards to our prospects for oil, the Opposition paints a worrying picture of the future of Guyana being afflicted by the dreaded “Dutch Disease”, and about future elections being rigged.

Those postures fit into the dismal picture of the types of human beings who try to fool others, all the time, so as to get pity. They were described by one writer as having a permanent slogan, “When I lose, I win”.

It brings to mind a statement disputably attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

But for Guyanese, we can remind those who peddle lies and half-truths of what the old people say: “Moon ah run till day ketch am!”