THE Government and Opposition are slated to resume ‘talks’ this morning but, judging from past trends, the former is weary of the latter’s commitment to any form of constructive dialogue in the interest and for the betterment of the people of Guyana.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon was pellucid in his declaration yesterday that the commitment by the parliamentary opposition (APNU and AFC) to talks with government was “essentially betrayed”.
“They did not turn up. They spurned reported requests.  At the proverbial last moment, the important task was recognized and they finally approached the President,” Dr Luncheon said in a brief statement last evening.
“It would seem an article of bad faith for the opposition to be aggressively pursuing talks in the context of declarations of  commitment to Budget cuts,” Dr Luncheon asserted.
Worse yet, has been the utterances of the Opposition in the media, he said.
Following is the text of Dr. Luncheon’s statement:

The 2013 Budget presentation received well deserved acclaim by Guyanese, save and except the Parliamentary Opposition.
The APNU and AFC opposition to the budget has been characterized as counter-productive. Their commitment to talks with government was essentially betrayed.   They did not turn up. They spurned reported request.  At the proverbial last moment, the important task was recognized and they finally approached the President.
During the time of the non-talks, the Opposition  used the media and the Budget Policy debates to deal with the 2013 Budget.  Threadbare   analyses and threats dominated their public statements.  They seemed unable to, or unwilling to debate government’s treatment of major issues in the 2013 Budget.
Faced with the universal acclaim, that was a daunting proposition for the Opposition parties.
On Friday 12th April, APNU wrote urging the President to meet, and followed up with their 11-point agenda.
Amazingly, not one of those 11-point agenda items introduced new areas.  They had been the subject of previous discussions between Government and Opposition.
Essentially, it would seem that their withdrawal from talks and their late request to re-engage was intended merely to buy time for purposes other than talks with government.
On Friday 12th April, during their letter-writing frenzy, the Parliament Notice Paper carried an AFC motion to cut the 2013 Budgetary Allocations by $38B.
It would seem an article of bad faith for the opposition to be aggressively pursuing talks in the context of declarations of  commitment to Budget cuts.
Worse yet, has been the utterances of the Opposition in the media.
Again, no submissions of substance, but threats and dire threats of their intentions. In the media, the Opposition unveiled a campaign to cultivate uncertainty at the very same time they were avoiding talks with the government.
Today (Monday), another round of Opposition Parliamentary action begins at 2.00 p.m.
Also, talks between Government and the Opposition resume at Office of the President at 9:00 am today.