SCORING POLITICAL points is very much the game of a parliamentary debate on a national budget. This is the scenario with the current debate taking place on Guyana’s 2012 budget, and could be expected to be the case the next time around.
Yet, when newcomers to parliamentary politics, like, for instance, former Police Commissioner, Winston Felix, now MP of the APNU,  makes, as he did, sweeping statements about “rampant”  bribery and corruption in the Guyana Police Force, it is  quite a disturbing development. Much more so, in the absence of any EVIDENCE.
During the heat of a general election campaign it is to be expected that some very sensational allegations could be made. Nevertheless, given the retired top cop’s long years of service in the GPF it is a matter of grave concern for him to indulge in emotional talk in the parliament about “rampant corruption” of the very institution he once had the privilege to head
There may be valid complaints against levels of efficiency and commitment among ranks of the GPF. Sweeping claims of “rampant corruption” is an entirely different ball game, and one that sends a very alarming message about the integrity of serving members of the GPF.
For the experienced ex-Commissioner to link his startling allegations to talk about the need for improved pay and working conditions for members of the GPF, is also quite strange.  He can hardly be unaware of the pay hikes and allowances, as well as efforts to improve working conditions that have been occurring over the years and even after his departure.
It is not as if the government has chosen to ignore the GPF when implementing pay hikes for public sector workers. The APNU parliamentarian must be careful, lest, in his quest to score political points,  appear  to be   rationalising  “bribery and corruption”—as he alleged—due to the level and frequency of pay hikes he feels should have been provided.
During that day’s budget debate relating to the GPF, the Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, raised a pertinent point when referring to Opposition MPs contention about perceived “lack of transparency and accountability” in fiscal management.
He asked, rhetorically: “Are we to understand that nothing will be right until the Opposition is able to dictate its whims and fancies to the government? Are we to understand that the AFC and APNU are custodians of transparency and accountability in the country?”
The answer, of course, is that all parties represented in parliament must have an interest in matters of transparency and accountability in the interest of good governance of this nation. This is quite different to the displays of arrogance so often being displayed these days by some lawmakers while seeking to win hearts and minds. The public remains watchful.