NO ONE ANTICIPATED THE DESTRUCTIVE REALITY BROUGHT BY THE APNU/AFC ONE-SEAT MAJORITY

TODAY marks the second anniversary of the commencement of Guyana’s Eighth Presidency.On December 3, 2011, Donald Rabindranauth Ramotar took the oath of presidential office and assumed the helm of Government, under circumstances that were completely unprecedented in this country’s history. He became president and head of an executive that did not, for the first time in the history of Guyanese Government, have a parliamentary majority.
There was much anticipation by some about the “new dispensation” that an Opposition-controlled Parliament heralded and all that this promised for Guyana. There can be few, however, who could possibly have anticipated the dysfunctional, unproductive, and utterly destructive reality that the APNU/AFC one-seat parliamentary majority brought with it. This 10th parliament of Guyana has witnessed the hijacking of the speakership and deputy speakership by the APNU/AFC one-seat majority; indiscriminate cuts to the national budget; obstruction of critical developmental projects; and legislative filibustering and foot-dragging with the aim of bringing Guyana into disrepute in the international community.
If one were to examine the items cut by the APNU/AFC from the national budget in 2012 and 2013, one would observe an array of obvious development projects aimed at improving the circumstances of the Guyanese people and the competitiveness of our country, with the inescapable conclusion being that the Opposition had no concern for the people or nation of Guyana in expunging these items from the budget.
Much the same can be said about their steadfast undermining of the Amaila project and the Money Laundering Bill. Ignoring the views and voices of thousands of Guyanese persons and, in particular, the voices of legitimate stakeholders, including the organised private sector and labour, they persisted in obstructing these two important national initiatives, undermining investor interest in Guyana, and inflicting injury on Guyana’s credibility internationally.
With this background in mind, it is to the credit of President Donald Ramotar and the Government he leads that the country has continued to make visible progress. The economy has continued to grow, investors have continued to come to Guyana and consummate their projects, jobs have continued to be created and persons have remained in work, infrastructure has continued to be built and rehabilitated, and notwithstanding the frustrations faced in Parliament, progress has been made with the legislative agenda, all of this, despite the best efforts to stymie progress. These accomplishments should not in any way be trivialised, especially given the most challenging circumstances in which they came.
Furthermore, the current presidency has been marked by a demonstrated and concerted effort to involve and engage the Opposition on all matters of national importance. On the Amaila project, the President convened meetings with the Opposition and participated in these meetings himself, making his entire technical team available to the Opposition, answering every question that was asked and supplying every item of information that was requested, only to be greeted at the end by an adverse vote. The same can be said of the Money Laundering Bill, in which case President Ramotar’s administration placed the Bill before a special select committee, spared no effort to have that committee complete its work on time, all to no avail, as the APNU/AFC opposition persisted with their agenda to frustrate its timely passage and damage the nation’s credibility. This has been the inescapable pattern of the Parliament.
It is to the credit of President Ramotar and his Government that such a strong chorus of national support was built around the major initiatives taken to Parliament. The public indignation at the budget cuts, the shock and anger at the obstruction of Amaila, the palpable outrage and disbelief at the vote against the money-laundering legislation, all point to a stakeholder community and public at large that are in tune with President Ramotar’s Government’s position on issues of national importance.
When it comes to the question of representing the best long-term interests of the people of Guyana, President Ramotar’s administration would undoubtedly emerge favourably on account of its performance over this first two years and the position it took on all of the major issues of national importance that emerged during this period.
It remains to be seen for how much longer, and how much more frequently, the APNU/AFC one-seat majority can try to ignore the largest party in Parliament, the nation’s stakeholder community, and the Guyanese public at large. They do so at their own peril.