Dear Editor,
Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Justice Claudette Singh has written President David Granger informing him that the Commission would be ready to host General and Regional Elections by the end of February 2020.

Realistically speaking, that means Elections can be held as early as March 2020. I was particularly pleased to read an article published in the Guyana Chronicle on September 19, 2019 which was headlined, “APNU, AFC agree on core principles”. This means that progress is being made to finalise the Cummingsburg Accord.

Editor, while I am satisfied that the APNU and the AFC are moving towards the finalisation of the Accord, I am concerned about 60/40 split of ministerial positions as obtained in the 2015 Accord. Should the AFC receive the same portfolios it holds if the coalition Government is re-elected come 2020? Think about it, the AFC lost badly in the Local Government Elections when it decided to contest those elections alone. It was the AFC’s former member Charandass Persaud who joined forces with the PPP causing the no-confidence motion against the Government to be passed.

Let’s take a look at the performance of the AFC in those portfolios to which they currently enjoy. The AFC currently holds responsibility for, in addition to the Prime Ministerial position, Public Infrastructure, Agriculture, Public Security, Public Telecommunications, Business and Tourism. The Agricultural Sector has been a massive disappointment. We have only seen the Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder and heard from him during sittings of the National Assembly. The Minister of Public Infrastructure may be the most successful of the AFC ministers, but he too is not without fault.

The Public Telecommunications Minister, Catherine Hughes has struggled to achieve liberalisation, a major promise by the coalition Government; the Ministry of Business seems to be operating in a world of its own; The Minister of Public Security’s focus seems to be set on becoming the Prime Ministerial candidate and the development of a robust tourism sector is yet to be seen. Editor, what has happened to the promise of constitutional reform?
Editor, the Minister of Natural Resources has been accused of being involved in corruption, so much so, that President Granger took full control of the oil and gas sector.

Regards
Ryan Maraj