OLD Kai has always believed it was only a matter of when, not if, the one-seat majority of the combined opposition in the National Assembly would be the cause of their own downfall. I had recognised from the onset that what we have that passes for an opposition these days in Guyana are a bunch of ‘talkers’, not ‘doers’. If you want to expose their frailty, simply give them responsibility!

Only recently, we heard President Donald Ramotar expressing his regret that the Parliamentary committees have been operating in a ‘go-slow’ mode that was harming the interests of our people.
Not surprisingly, these Committees are all controlled by the AFC/APNU alliance. They are always the first in line at the snacks room, but last in line to go do the nation’s work.
Listening to the concerns of the PPP/C Chief Whip, Ms Gail Texeria, one gets the impression that it is like ‘pulling-teeth’ to get the opposition to actually work; something which they were elected to do, which they are being paid to do and for which they accepted responsibility, not to mention the perks, like the duty-free concessions etc.
However, they hardly turn up for work in the Committees, and in the case when lightning strikes twice in the same place, and they actually do turn up, they are disinterested, distracted and distracting from the business at hand. This essentially also sums up the personality of the Opposition Leader, David Granger.
One recent example is when he lamented to the media that the Opposition was not being consulted on the budget, so they will have to cut it. Then Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh exposed him by revealing the many efforts his ministry has made to get the Opposition to the discussion table for them to actually ‘work’ on the budget. Lo and behold! The Opposition’s response was that ‘deh ain’t gat time wit dat nuff nuff jan-jat’.
Exactly! Government work is hard work; it is detailed or thorough as possible, and it requires long hours of concentration; not to mention you must have a genuine commitment to what you are doing in order to be successful.
The conference rooms are not a political platform to grandstand on all day and make wild promises; it is where you have to get down to the nitty-gritty details and iron them out. You have to have an ability to think; to come up with ideas on how to genuinely solve people’s problems. It is a thankless job, as no matter how well you do, there is always another group clamouring for more, or criticising your efforts. But you are not there for applause; you are there to make a difference in the lives of every Guyanese, starting with one individual or group at a time. You understand that change is a slow, and at times a painful process; and you are prepared for this long, hard grind.
Old Kai is fully aware that when ‘dem opposition boys’ are reading this unmasked reality of public sector administrative work, ‘belly-wuk’ gun step in once again. This is what they are running from! As I am putting together this column, I am not surprised to see yet another lame response from the Opposition Leader, calling on President Ramotar to “assent to Bills passed by the National Assembly.” Whenever he is under pressure and is being exposed, this is his favourite stunt in his X14 book of tricks to play on Guyanese, particularly his loyal supporters, to distract and bamboozle them into believing that he actually has something to be genuinely aggrieved about.
With all ‘dem big-shot and big-mouth lawyers’ in the Oposition (some of them who proudly represent criminals for free, and who love to sound like experts on everything under the sun, every time you open the Stabroek or Kaieteur News), surely you would expect them to come up with a Parliamentary Bill or Motion which does not conflict with our Constitution.
President Ramotar has already indicated that he will not assent to any Bill, once he is aware that it is in conflict with our Constitution. His position is a straightforward one, as that is one of his primary responsibilities as Head of State. This is also a primary responsibility of the National Assembly, but the Opposition, with their one-seat majority, seems intent on running it like they once did our nation.
Even when the constitutional inconsistencies of their Bills are pointed out by the PPP/C side of the house, they simply ignore this genuine effort to provide guidance to them and bulldoze their way through Parliament. So, it is rather surprising that Mr. Granger, in his latest statement, is calling for ‘consensus and compromise’.
In the pposition language, it means “give us what we want, and we will not compromise the future of Guyana!”
Further, Old Kai has detected some fatal flaws in this statement from the opposition. Mr. Granger’s call for renewed “consensus and compromise” comes in the same breath as he attacks the President for being “contemptuous” and “injurious” for his decision not to assent to the unconstitutional Bills.
This gives further credence to my above interpretation of what the Opposition really means when it talks about ‘consensus and compromise’. And let us also not forget that it was this same Granger who saw the need to increase subsidised electricity tariffs in Linden, and agreed to this move during the committee stages of discussion, only to oppose the move publicly.
What a way to underline ones credentials of being trustworthy, in the spirit of ‘consensus and con-promise’!
The Opposition Leader further confirms that his call to meet with the President to ‘discuss’ his (the President) concerns regarding why he has refused to assent to the unconstitutional opposition-piloted legislation is merely a gimmick intended to distract from his current leadership troubles and the disintegration of APNU.
The Head of State has already publicly announced WHY he has not assented to the Bills, that is because they CLASH with the Constitution. Is Granger expecting that he will negotiate with the President (‘in the spirit of consensus and compromise’) how to disregard the supreme law of our land?
We already know the answer to that: It is simply not possible! Our Constitution cannot be bent and twisted at the whim and fancy of the Opposition; and because of this fact, he will get nowhere with his agenda while meeting with President Ramotar. He already knows this! But after the meeting, he will come out claiming the President and the PPP/C Government are inflexible and unwilling to negotiate ‘in the spirit of consensus and compromise’ with the Opposition.
Then his cheerleaders around him and in the media will push the agenda that the Government is ignoring the legitimate demands of the Opposition, and poor Mr. Granger is being taken advantage of.
This, in turn, will serve to rile opposition supporters, and, presto! the current problems within APNU and the AFC would have vanished or at least taken a back seat from the limelight, as they will flog this artificial dilemma for every ounce of political leverage they can possible get, until they manage to create another distraction.
Any opposition using such important national issues to play political games, and gamble with the future of not only its supporters, but that of the entire nation, will confirm, without a doubt, that they are not serious or genuine, and cannot be trusted with the responsibility of managing a cake shop, much less a country.