THE performance of the Opposition parties in Parliament has been very disappointing, despite their parliamentary majority, and after over a year they have not brought forward any proposals which could help our country and people.

Instead, they have been purely reactive to government proposals, trying to block them all. By so doing, they are losing the respect and support of very many since all projects vetoed are of national (long and short-term) benefits. And they have not been able to suggest anything positive.
One of the terrible and unforgiveable things the Opposition has done is to prevent Guyana from having a Specialty Hospital. Every civilised country has at least one such hospital and even Jamaica is building another on their north coast. Such hospitals do kidney transplants, all types of heart surgery and other surgical operations as well as treating all types of difficult medical problems.
Many people who die because they do not have money enough for foreign treatment, could have been alive. Or some, though they have the money, were not able to get timely treatment. And many people’s older relatives who live abroad and would wish to resettle in Guyana cannot do so because of the lack of specialty medical treatment.
In the Parliament, the Ministry of Health was able to answer every single question on the Specialty Hospital raised by the Opposition and even invited more. The Opposition’s blocking of the Specialty Hospital was without reason. APNU supporters are disappointed by the party’s leadership, who in Parliament, allowed themselves to be led by the AFC. This anti-hospital action was an AFC thing, but APNU allowed itself to be led by the AFC, thus allowing the tail to wag the dog.
It is rumoured that a consortium of wealthy persons will now put up the money to build such a Specialty Hospital, but its fees would be very steep. If the state were to build such a hospital, charges would have been more reasonable.The AFC would be more discredited when this is done and the embarrassment and loss of support would be greater than that caused by their tomfoolery about the Marriott, which is now being completed before the eyes of all.
The AFC, like the WPA, now appears to be a party without a future, and indeed, it has started breaking up in Berbice. It is a great pity that the AFC has fallen into this terminal sickness and that APNU has tied bundle with them. Perhaps deciding to build the hospital may revive fortunes.