PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo continues to call for unity talks with the political opposition, in an effort to achieve a more unified National Assembly.As Leader of the House, the Prime Minister is spearheading the unity talks’ initiative. According to GINA, the administration believes Parliament should be less confrontational, less argumentative, and less expressive of animosities and hatred, hence this olive branch extension to the opposition.

During a recent interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA), the Prime Minister explained it is envisaged that both the Government and Opposition benches of Parliament will, in 2016, work in harmony for the greater good of Guyana and its peoples.

He has re-issued his call to the political opposition to “come on board; let us talk; let us make 2016 the year when we put aside our squabbles, when we stop cussing each other; and this bickering must stop.

“I want to say that I will not spare any effort in pursuing this goal. Whether they cuss me up today, and they reject me today, I believe that it is unsustainable to do so forever,” the Prime Minister has said.

GINA said the Prime Minister, who is passionate about the issue, has advised that the wave of the future for Guyana is one of national unity and one where the nation embraces itself in oneness.

“For me, there is no such thing as an ‘opposition in a house’. We are all partners, and the old concept of our old majesty’s loyal opposition does not work anymore. We are all nationalists, we are all driven by one agenda — the love of our country, the love of our people, the love of our environment — to see that we have a productive and healthy environment, and one that we could all be proud of,” the Prime Minister said.

He said the olive branch which was extended to the PPP, a party with which he was associated for 50 years, is not an idle offer, and it should not be brushed aside.

“…if you take that path that Guyana’s future can be realised by confrontation, then you are inviting others who have their eyes on our country to exploit our division; and it has always been said that division in the face of an enemy is always a poor strategy. It is not even a strategy, it is a blunder, a mistake of monumental proportions,” he stated.

The concept of being an opposition for the sake of opposing should not be applicable, as all members of Parliament are seen as patriots, fighting for Guyana and putting forward the best image of the country, he stated.

The Prime Minister also called on Guyanese to recognise that, in harmony and unity, national development can be achieved at a faster rate; and he urged that all make a solemn undertaking to put their country’s image first.