THE debates on the National Budget begin today, and the PPP/C, led by former President-turned-Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is expected to make an appearance in the August House today.
The PPP/C has chosen to stay away from all the sittings of the House since the commencement of the 11th Parliament.According to Jagdeo, the PPP/C, which was voted out of power amid rampant allegations of corruption, nepotism and abuse of public office, will be holding the Government accountable, to stop corruption and ensure good governance.
The new Opposition Leader had already criticised aspects of the 2015 Budget.
For instance, he said he was taken aback by Finance Minister Winston Jordan’s announcement that the Administration intends to spend $97 billion of the $221 billion budget in the last four months of the year.
A former Finance Minister himself, Jagdeo said that spending $97 billion in the last quarter translates into the Government spending $800 million per day.
The “Champion of the Earth” has also predicted that the debates might run until mid-September, which would offer the Government some 115 days to spend the $97 billion.
Jagdeo also noted that following the Budget debates, the Opposition would be closely scrutinising procurement practices by the Government for the remainder of the year.
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon had said that the Administration welcomes Jagdeo back into Parliament as a member of the House.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
But he said the former President will still have to answer questions pertaining to incidents that occurred during his tenure in office.
The Minister of State had pointed out that while the Government welcomes the former President in the House, he (Jagdeo), by accepting to be a member of the National Assembly, points to his credibility.
Jagdeo, on demitting office in 2011, had said he was not interested in being a central figure in public life, and had no interest in public office.
But his acceptance to become a member of the National Assembly in the 11th Parliament, the PPP said, was based on the urging of the party’s executives.
The reversal of his decision not to hold public office aside, a criminal charge has been filed against Jagdeo for racial incitement.

HIJACKING OF LEADERSHIP
Meanwhile, former Speaker of the National Assembly and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) stalwart, Ralph Ramkarran has accused Jagdeo of hijacking the leadership of the PPP.
As Ramkarran sees it, Jagdeo and his cabal in the PPP leadership have shunted former President Donald Ramotar aside, a situation which he said has no doubt caused some embarrassment to Ramotar.
But former President Ramotar claimed this is not the case, saying that he is in support of Jagdeo holding the post.
“Mr Ramotar ignored the fact that Dr Jagdeo’s insatiable ego cannot be satisfied by fraternal considerations or rational calculations,” Ramkarran had said, adding: “In any event, Mr Ramotar apparently did not realise that with the loss of elections and Dr Jagdeo’s grip on the leadership, his political career was over.”
The former PPP Executive also informed that the PPP has made, arguably, the most egregious blunder in its entire history by failing to implement Dr Cheddi Jagan’s ‘shared governance’ or ‘winner-does-not-take-all’ policies in political conditions in 2011, where it could have been easily sold to its supporters.
“The PPP would have had to make fundamental concessions and share power in circumstances of equality, where it would not ‘dominate or be dominated’, a policy also advocated by Jagan. The national unity thereby created would have transformed Guyana and revolutionised our politics. Our nation would once again have been able to aspire to 1950 and bring within reach our motto of ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’. But President Ramotar had made it plain in 2011 that power sharing ‘would not happen.’ The ruling clique of the PPP has deliberately killed the dream of unity and is on its way to Parliament to bury it,” he had said.