PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has maintained his contention that his Government could have aptly defended itself in the face of the Alliance For Change (AFC) sponsored no-confidence motion, but would have lost the vote, given the combined Opposition’s one-seat majority in the National Assembly.

To this end, he reiterated that his decision to prorogue Parliament was intended to encourage dialogue among the parliamentary political parties, which have been gridlocked since the commencement of the 10th Parliament.

However, the AFC and the main Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), have since rejected Mr. Ramotar’s invitation for talks, which was made via a letter dispatched on Tuesday to Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Brigadier (rtd.) David Granger.
Both parties have publicly indicated that there will be “no talks” unless the prorogation of Parliament is lifted.

In proroguing Parliament last Monday, President Ramotar was also emphatic that the move to prorogation would have kept the 10th Parliament alive, which currently has several critically important matters before it.
The effect of ending the first session of the 10th Parliament via prorogation is the termination of the business of the National Assembly.
As a result, the AFC sponsored no-confidence motion was not considered. Also, APNU had, prior to Monday, signalled its intent to support the push through of the motion. Had it not been for the proclamation to prorogue Parliament, if the no-confidence motion was passed, Guyana would have been headed to early general elections within three months.
However, Mr. Ramotar has made it clear that if these efforts prove futile, there will be a move to early general elections; the last general elections were held in November, 2011.

MUDSLINGING
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who is also leader of Government’s business in the National Assembly, has indicated his agreement with the President’s reasoning.
“The President firstly wanted to give dialogue a chance. On Monday afternoon we were looking at the no-confidence motion. As Leader of the House, I could not give the President any guarantee that we could avoid this…we would have had a big ‘cuss down’ and a ‘buse down,’” he told the Guyana Chronicle, in an invited comment.
According to PM Hinds, it is no credit to the combined Opposition that they were planning a “cuss down” of the Government, when faced with an alternative for talks to break the political gridlock in the interest of Guyana and the Guyanese people.
“It is to them no credit that they were planning to go ahead with a ‘cuss down’ of the Government…I agree with the President, that the best thing to do was to save the 10th Parliament,” the Prime Minister said.
He stressed that there is merit in “saving” the 10th Parliament, considering the issues before the National Assembly.
These matters include the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill which is in Parliamentary Special Select Committee; the Education Bill 2014, the Land Surveyors Bill 2014 and the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2014 are up for a second reading. Also among the Bills scheduled for a first reading are the Food Safety Bill 2014 and the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) (Amendment) Bill 2014. Other important matters before the National Assembly include the appointment of members for the Rights of the Child Commission (ROC) and the Women and Gender Equality Commission.
“The President, by proroguing the House, has avoided that mudslinging to give dialogue a chance in the interest of the Guyanese people,” Prime Minister Hinds concluded.

(By Vanessa Narine)