THIS EDITORIAL was written while we awaited the latest news report from Linden where activists of the opposition, under the influence of the PNC’s point man in Linden, Sharma Solomon, had organised anti-government protests that could further negatively impact on the livelihood of more than the people of that bauxite mining town. For now this newspaper remains focused on the political gymnastics by the PNC/AFC alliance to further delay parliamentary approval of the vital ‘Anti-Money and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill”, as well as their fun politics over participation in consultation talks on the coming new Budget for 2014, as repeatedly requested by the Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.
Having failed to show up last week for the work of the National Assembly’s Select Committee to which the “anti-money” laundering legislation was referred for consideration, Opposition Leader and chairman of APNU (PNC in new clothing), David Granger, was quoted in another section of the media as giving the assurance for co-operation to ensure passage of the bill by February 14.
We have no doubts that, like the government, the private sector and all other stakeholders in Guyana, as well as the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, of course, would eagerly await the honouring of this new assurance by Mr Granger.
In the meanwhile, it is to be hoped that he  would succeed in getting former Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge, the PNC “comrade” he had narrowly beaten (by 15 votes) for the party’s leadership prior to the 2012 general elections, to participate in invited talks on the 2014 budget.
To say the least, Guyanese across the political divide cannot forget their painful experiences of Mr Greenidge’s budgets and initiatives at fiscal management of the national economy.
After all, the initiatives he spearheaded couldn’t deliver this nation from the years of administrative incompetence and fiscal bunglings, not to mention the myopic, spiteful politics that had Guyana struggling to overcome the burden of being relegated among the world’s poorest and highly indebted countries.
Now, rather than participate in consultations with the Finance Minister on the budget, prior to readiness for presentation in parliament, an evidently bitter Mr Greenidge has been resorting to typical divisive political posturings. Has he bothered to show his party’s leader the official letter of invitation sent to him by the Finance Minister for consultation? If so, why the lingering negative attitude?
Whatever may be Mr Greenidge’s working relationship with Mr Granger, he needs to demonstrate the level of political maturity required of him to at least acknowledge the Minister’s invitation for pre-budget talks rather than encourage his party to indulge in political sophistry or, as Guyanese like to say, sheer ‘bad-mouth’ politics.
We wait to see if either or both the PNC and AFC would accept the government’s invitation for pre-budget consultation talks. President Donald Ramotar said on Friday that the door remained open for such consultation.