Political theatrics were the order of the day in Parliament on Friday when the

coalition of opposition parties (A Partnership for National Unity(APNU) and the  Alliance For Change(AFC) used their one-seat majority in the 65-member Assembly to pass a piece of legislation that’s viewed in the context of a hate-driven policy directed at former President Bharrat Jagdeo. It’s designed to alter benefits to him as provided for under the approved ‘Former Presidents (Benefits and  Other Facilities)Act of 2009’.
Piloting the legislation to significantly change the Act was the APNU parliamentarian Carl Greenidge. He was Minister of Finance during the period when Guyana was reduced to what the internationally respected regional  economist and scholar, Sir Alister McIntyre, had deemed to have fallen into a virtual “Haitianisation” status in a commissioned assessment of the economic and social challenges then confronting Guyana.
Those familiar with the tragedies of Haiti and able to recall some of the political, social and economic horrors of Guyana for almost 28 years would understand the implications of the referenced “Haitianisation” status that ‘Comrade’ Greenidge would like to forget.
Having failed in separate attempts to secure leadership of the PNCR and presidential candidate status for APNU, Greenidge has been consistent in openly harbouring not just personal dislike for former President Jagdeo (a quality that endears him to the AFC’s Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo, both PPP defectors). He has difficulties in also concealing prejudices that would have contributed to his failure to become a president of Guyana.
So much for now about the primary architect of the legislation to amend the 2009 Act on Presidential Benefits and other Facilities. Ironically, one of his new-found allies,  AFC’s Nagamootoo,  was hilariously exposed for his sheer hypocrisy by Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall, during the debate on the legislation.
The Attorney-General demolished Nagamootoo’s political pretensions by quoting from ‘Hansard’, official record of parliamentary proceedings, to expose what the the ex-PPP parliamentarian did not wish his APNU/AFC “colleagues ”to know: That is,  while still an MP of the governing PPP, he had voted FOR  the original 2009 Bill on presidential benefits and facilities.
The exposure of Nagamootoo’s 1992 vote sent both government and opposition MPs laughing. But Greenidge’s amendments to the 1992 Act is certainly no laughing matter.  The government MPs were not amused. And in the end, quite predictably the opposition MPs were left to use their one-seat majority to pass the amended sections which Attorney-General Nandlall deemed to ”border on  lunacy..”
As is to be expected, media headlines and reportings  on the passage of the amended legislation have been varied.  Yet, the Stabroek News which, over the years, has sustained its own bitterness with former President Jagdeo’s decision that had resulted in the reduction of the newspapers then regular level of public sector advertisements, was to ask in its page-one lead story yesterday: “Will Ramotar sign it into law?”
Surely, the decision-makers of the Stabroek News would be fully aware that one does not have to be a “rocket scientist” to guess the answer to the question raised. From our perspective, the answer seems quite simple: NO!…President Donald Ramotar will not sign into law this fanciful piece of legislation.
For another leading section of the local print media, ‘Guyana Times’, reporting yesterday on the passage of the Bill, it was “a waste of time and taxpayers’ money in parliament” by the combined opposition.
Speaker Raphael Trotman, who seems to be making a virtue of recurring controversies in the conduct of Parliament’s business, has at  least made clear his own informed recognition that, under the Guyana Constitution, Parliament consists of the Executive President and the elected representatives of the National Assembly.
In the circumstances under review, it is simply difficult to conceive of the Head of State and Government giving his essential assent to such a myopic, controversial legislative measure.
Interestingly, Friday’s sitting of Parliament also witnessed an unprecedented walk-out from the Chamber by all the government MPs after failing to persuade the opposition to accept an offer for structured dialogue on a motion for the creation of a National Heritage Commission.
So, where do we go from here in parliamentary politics  if, indeed Guyana is not really heading in the direction of a new general election? Time will tell.