BY MICHAEL YOUNGE
IT is no surprise that the Irfaan Ali Administration was focussed on the passage of the $383.1B Budget, despite the drama and scene which was put on by the A Partnership For National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition in National Assembly.

There were plans uncovered to derail this budget since it was presented in February. There were twists and turns which unfolded during the debate presentation but none managed to catch the Government unprepared or surprised.

What’s shocking is the opposition’s defence of their actions in Parliament when it was time to consider the estimates of the budget in the Committee of Supply. From day one, each question was met with an answer so the opposition would not use the argument that the administration was hiding facts and evidence away from the public. This heat rolled over to the next day and the sitting.

Suddenly, there was an infraction which occurred while the Parliament was “asleep”. Opposition member and Parliamentarian Tabitha Sarabo-Halley was the victim of an alleged assault at the hands of Government Minister Kwame McCoy. It just happened that she didn’t have any real or material evidence of the assault nor was there any footage from the cameras present to frame Mc Coy.

This incident was particularly timed and positioned, it appears from the statements. Also, the exchange of words that took place is sure to have caught the attention of the onlookers in the public. This, it is said, hardly had any except for Minister Anand Persaud and one other member Amanza Desir. The police were called in and the matter is being investigated fully.

Now, the opposition used the opportunity of an alleged assault against one of its members to fuel its rage and called on the Speaker Manzoor Nadir to suspend Mc Coy. When he would not, ruckus broke out. There was tampering on desks and allegations after the next both in Parliament and in the realm of mass and social media. All guns were oiled by the opposition who staged protest for alleged women rights and against the Speaker.

It all ended with the Speaker rightfully ignoring their concerns and the opposition breached the traditions and procedures in Parliament when dealing with its campaign. Several members were suspended for the sitting and time was taken for the passage of the budget.

What is alarming about the most recent opposition cries of injustice apart from the lack of evidence and the air of distrust that swept both the media and Government parliamentarians was how the opposition dealt with it. They allowed their emotions to get the best of them. And there was a witch hunt for Mc Coy even before any reasonable doubt. There wasn’t any levelheadedness.

No leadership that was capable of thinking above the fray or rationally. Not even sober and academia were involved. This was seen as they took to social media with the usual suspects in the person of Sherod “stolen” Duncan and Christopher “Barbershop” Jones among others levelling all manners of things against the Government and using Mr Mc Coy as a fall man or bait.

Secondly, the opposition is making a mockery out of the very serious nature of gender-based violence. Let Tabitha Sarabo-Halley go through what every victim passes through if she was indeed a victim. Get the information first. The medical report will ensure you are vindicated to a point. Get back with the police and then you can exact your pound of flesh politically from the Government.

Behave like you are the victim and don’t make statements that lead to more questions than answers and the public watching you with a side eye. Get on to your Minister of Human Services and find out how you can deal with alleged trauma that you faced and insecurities that still exist while the matter is being addressed. There is a whole lot of things you could do as opposed to being on the TV and Internet running the Government down.

Thirdly, the opposition voluntarily lost out the opportunity to scrutinise the estimates of expenditure of the Government. They chose to allow drama and rhetoric to consume their time in Parliament. They gave up their roles to challenge the Government by ensuring transparency and accountability were there where the people’s monies were concerned. This means the opposition is full of talks and no actions on the financial front. Not to trivialise the issue of violence, but it could be dealt with effectively outside the chamber.

Now, the argument will shift. The opposition will say they didn’t have the opportunity to scrutinise the estimates in the budget and there was a race to the finish line.

While there should be widespread condemnation of how the issue was dealt with by the opposition, there should be a breath of fresh air because the budget passed the first hurdle it faced.
Policy implementation and policy execution are the next hurdles it will face in its way to benefit the people.