ATTORNEY General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall is of the view that the current majority held by the political Opposition in the National Assembly, while it heralds a new constitutional reality, it is not anything mysterious or difficult to understand. The role of the parliamentary Opposition, according to Minister Nandlall, has not changed in any significant manner compared to what obtained previously.

He said that all that has changed significantly is the fact that they have more votes than the executive in the National Assembly. “What has not changed or expanded is the scope of the power and responsibility which the Opposition is expected to discharge in the National Assembly.”
The Attorney General, speaking on a recent programme on the National Communications Network, said that  while the executive has one seat less than the combined Opposition, the actual power held by the executive has not diminished and its constitutional role and mandate have not changed. “There is no corresponding diminution of power in any other sphere of influence, so the executive remains an executive with all the powers and all the functional responsibilities, outside of the parliament, unchanged.”
The Opposition’s functions, he stressed, remain the same, and they must act, like all members of parliament, at all times, in the best interest of Guyana. The parliamentary opposition has not done this, in his opinion, Minister Nandlall said.
The Attorney General posed the question to Guyanese, regardless of which political party they support or voted for during the last election, whether their lives have improved since the new dispensation in the National Assembly.
“Let us examine what the Opposition has done thus far. They have cut the 2012 budget, has that improved the life of any single citizen of this country? They have cut the 2013 budget, has that improved the life of any citizen? They have gagged Minister (Clement) Rohee from speaking in the National Assembly, has that improved the life of any single person in this country? They have rejected several projects intended to transform the national landscape and the livelihoods of the people of this country, has this improved the life of any single person?”
The AG further criticised the parliamentary Opposition for the excessive and unnecessary number of parliamentary sittings. “For example, for about four months parliament sat, only to deal with whether Minister Rohee should speak or not. That has cost the taxpayers of this country $1.7M per sitting or $6.8M. Has that improved the life of any single person in this country? In my view it hasn’t, and I’m asking the people of this country to look at their own life, to look at their own home and identify what facet of their lives has improved, if any, as a result of the Opposition exercising these powers in the parliament”.
Minister Nandlall opined that the parliamentary Opposition is attempting to run the government from the parliament, and because this move has been resisted by the executive, they’re withholding their support on matters of paramount national importance. “That is why I explained that while they have an increased number of votes, their responsibilities and powers have not increased… Additionally, those who are in the National Assembly are simply embarking on schemes of vendetta and vindictiveness. They don’t like you; they don’t like how you speak to them so they reject what you say and what you propose, regardless of the fact that your proposal maybe something of pivotal importance to Guyana and the  citizenry”.
This type of parliamentary behaviour has resulted in serious economic consequences to the country, said the Attorney General, and the recent mid-year report by the Finance Minister highlights the fact that the economy has contracted somewhat.
There have been and continue to be consultations with the parliamentary Opposition, but these engagements have borne little fruit thus far, said the minister. He pointed out that despite  continuous efforts by President Ramotar to consult and share information on stymied transformational national projects, such as the Amaila Falls and the airport expansion project, those efforts have been reduced to zero.
What the action of the parliamentary Opposition has done, according to Minister Nandlall, is to condemn future generations of Guyanese who stand to reap the benefits of the major projects, to a life of poverty.
“The leader of the Opposition has condemned the future generations of young Guyanese to a life of poverty when he rejected the single most transformational project in this country, that was the Amaila Falls Project”. The reasons now being given, by the APNU in particular, were never mentioned previously, he noted, yet everyday various excuses are being broadcast via the media as to reasons why they did not support the transformative project.
“But on that fateful day when they killed the project in the National Assembly, they offered not a single reason for so doing, they simply voted against the project.”
These decisions have had a cumulative and widespread impact on all Guyanese.
“I’m hoping that the people of Guyana are being exposed to and appreciate what is going on in the National Assembly, how their lives are being affected and who are responsible for it,” the AG concluded.