‘NO WALKOVER’
PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has refused to be railroaded by opposition threats and anti-democratic actions in and out of Parliament, even while he is prepared to be accommodating of all stakeholders in the national interest. As the first Guyanese president to be challenged with a Parliament that has collective opposition majority, and which has proven so far to be recalcitrant and power-crazy, showing scant regard for the national good, President Ramotar has not lost his affable disposition and it is quite evident that nothing can shake his equanimity in the pursuit of, nor his commitment to, his development agenda.
Although he is aware, and is not afraid to admit to his knowledge, that there were interferences in the elections process by forces that meant to skew the results in favour of the opposition collective, which had constrained the PPP/C to request a recount of ballots cast in certain areas, he is quite prepared to work with an opposition parliamentary majority for the national good.  That the joint opposition achieved a majority in parliament, whether legitimately or otherwise, is moot and, initially, inconsequential to him as his intentions have always been to lead a government that was inclusive of all stakeholders because he was aware, as all PPP/C presidents before him did, that this was the only way for this country to realize its optimum potential for development.
However, the joint opposition seems hell-bent on a destructive path that would stymie national development because this would make the Donald Ramotar administration seem inefficient and ineffective; especially if there are delays to the start-up, or continuation of projects in the pipeline already in stream.
When a Carl Greenidge can challenge an Ashni Singh on the national budget, especially in view of their well-documented respective track records – one for completely destroying the country’s economy and one for steering the nation’s economy on a trajectory of growth; and, through the theatrics of his comrades in parliament, impede the progress in the country – so ably charted by former PPP/C presidents, then Guyana is in for some interesting times.
But ‘The Donald’ is unfazed, because the PPP has weathered worse storms and emerged stronger in intent and commitment to steer the nation toward its ultimate objective; that is, to achieve all the promises inherent in this people of diverse cultures, whereby, all Guyanese can live in unity in this country, where peace, progress and prosperity will prevail.
Brilliant young Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, has said that Budget 2012 is about meeting the needs of the people and creating an environment where everyone’s aspirations can be realized, because it is built around a sustainable macroeconomic framework.
The Finance Minister presented his sixth budget on Friday and his first since the general elections of November 28 last year.
Chronicle’s Priya Nauth wrote following an interview with Dr. Ashni Singh, prior to Friday’s presentation of the Budget, that: “Budget 2011 was presented by Minister Singh on 17th January 2011, under the theme ‘Together Building Tomorrow’s Guyana Today’, and was the largest budget in the country’s history, at a total of $161.4B. Dr Singh said the presentation of the annual budget every year is a very important occasion in both the parliamentary and the national calendar.
“It’s an opportunity to present a review of economic developments in the country over the past year, situated in a regional and external context, and it’s an opportunity to outline plans and programmes for the coming year, and indeed, macro economic projections for the year.”
Dr Singh said this budget is particularly significant because it is the first budget of the tenth Parliament of Guyana, adding, “So it does provide us with an opportunity that is even more significant than would normally be the case, to review economic developments and, in particular, to outline government’s plans and programmes, not only for 2012, but also for the medium term, certainly the next five years or so.”
The budget for 2012, he said, like its predecessors for several years now, will follow the format of accounting for economic performance last year and outlining plans and programmes for 2012.”
President Ramotar had promised that his administration would build on the foundation laid by previous PPP/C governments, in accordance with that party’s stated objectives in its respective manifestos – unashamedly copied by the opposition parties, which created a sustained economic growth in the Guyanese economy.
Budget 2012 has no doubt contextually been placed within that framework, where the PPP/C has unrelentingly striven for the continuation of the sound macroeconomic fundamentals that have driven the nation on an upward trajectory of economic growth and social development, in accordance with the President’s promises of continuity in the country’s development paradigm, where modern Guyana was brilliantly engineered under the supremely astute guidance of former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
President Ramotar is intent on building on extant development facilitators in Guyana, as well as exploring and traversing innovative and creative pathways that would channel the nation’s pathways to optimize the country’s growth dynamics, and he is quite prepared, even while continuously pursuing consensual positions, to forge ahead with his administration’s commitment to national development imperatives.
The diligence, perseverance, prudent fiscal configurations – and one could even say conjurations, to restore Guyana to a solvent status from where it once was graphed on the lowest ratings on international growth indices is a record-breaking performance of any government, especially when placed within a framework of constant anti-democratic, anti-national theatrics by an unpatriotic and destructive opposition cabal, which often tried to drive this country back to the brink in their quest for power, primarily through their promotion of criminal activities, their “slo’ fiah; mo’ fiah’ manoeuvres, their “Buxton resistance”, their continuous demonizing and witch-hunting of PPP/C government functionaries at national and international fora, which is in direct contrast to the politics of the PPP/C, which always acts in the national interest and continuously attempt to unify the nation, preferring instead to truncate its term of office at various times rather than see this nation divided unto itself.
That Dr. Singh’s budget will embrace every community in Guyana will be moot to a muscle-flexing opposition collective, which has been grandstanding in serious diversionary strategies meant to derail government’s work.
Despite Government functionaries expressing hope that the opposition will, for once, abandon its theatrical posturing and seriously contribute to a productive Budget debate, anyone familiar with Guyanese politics would have scant hope of such an eventuality.
But, as aforementioned, “the Donald” is committed to expanding the national developmental paradigm, building on the foundation laid by his predecessors, especially the “architect of modern Guyana”, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, and either with or without opposition cooperation he will face and address all the extant and emerging challenges, even in the current Parliamentary landscape, to achieve the ultimate PPP/C goals of peace, progress and prosperity in this nation.