– Opposition’s secret deal injured tripartite initiative
PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar yesterday reiterated his disappointment with the actions displayed by the Opposition at the convening of the Tenth Parliament on Thursday last, where A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) joined forces to take away the positions of both Speaker and Deputy Speaker from the ruling PPP/C Government. He lamented that a good opportunity was missed for the parties to work closer together in the interest of all Guyanese.
“In all parliamentary democracies, particularly in the Commonwealth, it has become a practice for the ruling party to get the Speaker while the Deputy Speaker goes to the Opposition. We have stuck with that tradition even when we had the majority over the combined Opposition,” the President said.
He noted that Government’s nominee, Ralph Ramkarran, is a tried and tested personality, who has conducted the business of Parliament in a very professional and impartial way over the years and who, on many occasions, was praised by members of the Opposition themselves for the proficiency he demonstrated as Speaker of the House.
Nevertheless, the Head of State reaffirmed his Government’s resolve to move forward with the work of the Parliament so as to continue on the course of nation building.
“Immediately ahead of us is the national budget, which should be ready in the not-too-distant future,” he said.
Responding to a question with regard to APNU’s Leader, David Granger’s position of wanting collaboration in the mere budget preparation process rather than just consultation, President Ramotar said that during a previous meeting, both opposition parties had agreed to send their finance point-persons to consult with Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh.
However, that has not yet materialised and the President said that, “we have no intentions of abdicating the responsibilities of the Government; this is our responsibility not Mr. Granger’s.”
He further stated that the apparent “secret deal” between the two opposition parties was done in bad faith and does not bode well for future tripartite engagements.
With regard to the APNU and AFC’s complaints that the convening of Parliament on January 12 was short notice and that they were not officially notified, the Head of State said that when he met with them in December 2010, he agreed to convene the Parliament in the second or third week of January upon their requests, to facilitate members who had vacation and other plans.
The convening of the Tenth Parliament saw the Opposition teaming up to elect Raphael Trotman, from the AFC and formerly of the PNC as Speaker of the House; while Deborah Backer of the PNC-led APNU was elected Deputy Speaker.                 
After the PPP/C was declared the winner of the 2011 general and regional elections, President Ramotar reached out to the Parliamentary Opposition; initiating a tripartite approach to get a consensus for the speakership of the Tenth Parliament. However, after December 19, there has been no other consultation but rather the APNU and AFC opted to work together and as a result, left the Parliament divided.