Volda Lawrence: APNU MP gone wild?

OLD Kai is convinced that something is definitely wrong and I mean, seriously wrong with some Opposition Members of Parliament. These are the individuals who have consistently accused the PPP/C Government of losing touch with the masses but it seems that the Opposition should be looking into a mirror when they make such comments.Guyana’s political Opposition is clearly out of touch with the thoughts of the average man in the street and this was evident in the budget presentation of APNU’s MP Volda Lawrence recently. This woman went into Parliament and held up a pornographic DVD titled ‘Guyanese girls gone wild’ and like a ‘Johnny come lately’ began to condemn society in a self-righteous manner.

She should know that the very DVD was cause of a crackdown on Video clubs a few years ago, where several proprietors were charged and brought before the courts for possession of pornographic material. So turning up like Rip Van Winkle several years later with a copy will not cut it. If she was serious about sending a strong message to society, rather than procuring and apparently watching this video which is unlawful, Lawerence should have assisted the authorities so they can place before the courts whomever she sourced her copy from. Instead, she chose to grandstand. This APNU MP has apparently gone wild!

Guyana’s political Opposition is clearly out of touch with the thoughts of the average man in the street and this was evident in the budget presentation of APNU’s MP Volda Lawrence recently. This woman went into Parliament and held up a pornographic DVD titled ‘Guyanese girls gone wild’ and like a ‘Johnny come lately’ began to condemn society in a self-righteous manner.

She then spoke about a ‘rum culture’ being devastating to society. There is no ‘rum culture’; what we have is an ‘alcohol consumption culture’. There is an inherent difference and might I say it borders on trying to stereotype one particular race in Guyana.

It can be argued that the consumption of ‘rum’ has drastically decreased from what occurred years ago, when it was common to see someone under the influence lying at every street corner in the village. As society has evolved, the ‘alcohol consumption’ habits of citizens have also changed. It is puerile to suggest that this is a trend which only sprang up recently. The consumption of alcohol has been around for thousands of years, so Volda has apparently been asleep for longer than I initially imagined.

She used accidents where the drivers were found to be under the influence to back up her argument that the ‘rum culture’ is out of control. This is a misleading notion. Just image what would have been the state a few decades ago, were we to have had the amount of cars on our roads as we do today? It would have resulted in unprecedented carnage. She talks about lewd behaviours as she cited her prized possession, ‘Guyanese girls gone wild’ but again can you image if we had the amount of technology as we do today back then, what would have been the case?

Teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, sexual abuse, alcohol consumption, etc., are all a big issues today but these are problems which existed when Volda went on her first date, when the people she represents today were in Government back then. The truth is that these issues never received the type of attention that they should have. Thankfully, today these are issues provoking national debate. People are encouraged to break from tradition and speak out. It is taboo no longer.

So anyone who tries to engender the perception that our society is less caring today than it was back in the days, I say they need to get their heads examined. Victims of sexual abuse who suffered in silence were countless back then, even today in their old age they are still haunted by those memories. No one came to their assistance and in cases where persons knew, they would encourage the victim to remain silent and not bring ‘shame’ on the family while the perpetrator(s) roamed free, free to prey on their next victim. So when Volda harks back to her utopian-caring society next time, she should not omit these facts.

I mentioned earlier that the Opposition is clearly out of touch with the average man out there and this was evident in the budget presentation by Education Minister, Priya Manickchand. Volda and her crew apparently sensed they were about to be exposed which is why they used Manickchand’s “ask the APNU MP Sharma” retort to run out of Parliament.

The minister had cause to point out that Volda was clearly ‘sailing’ in her budget presentation and it now makes it even more difficult for citizens to trust what comes out of the mouth of Opposition MPs. Volda had lamented the less than ideal conditions visually impaired students were exposed to in the section of the St. Roses High School they occupied. The minister had cause to point out that these children have already been moved from that location and have been placed in a more hospitable and conducive environment.

What this shows is the lack of planning and groundwork on the part of APNU, as had Volda simply called to verify the present situation of these kids, she would not have been embarrassed in such a manner. This makes us wonder what else in the Opposition budget presentations is not factual in nature.

Another point which stuck is Volda’s contention that ‘hundreds of teachers are leaving our shores’ and again Minister Manickchand humbled her. The Education Minister pointed out that in actuality it was the other way around, as many teachers who broke their contracts and went overseas are now returning to Guyana, no doubt as they are finding life challenging in these countries where they had thought the ‘grass was greener’.

This is an inconvenient truth for the Opposition as it contradicts their plan of trying to convince Guyanese that things are not ideal and that they could offer citizens a ‘better Guyana’. Apart from their inglorious track record while in Government and their long list of efforts to economically sabotage Guyana since 1992, their pathetic efforts thus far in the budget debates can easily be bettered, had we placed some Secondary school students to replace them in the National Assembly.