DEMOCRACY depends on more than the party that governs. It also depends on the party that challenges it. Attorney-General Anil Nandlall, SC, made that point on the Starting Point podcast, and his appeal deserves a serious hearing.
The Opposition represents tens of thousands of Guyanese, and those citizens are entitled to a voice on the questions that shape the country’s future. Exposing corruption, or alleged corruption, is a legitimate part of that work. But it is not the whole job, and an opposition that treats it as the whole job is shortchanging the people who voted for it.
The list of issues awaiting serious opposition engagement is long. Households are feeling the cost of living, yet the Opposition’s contribution has largely been calling for salary increases. Wage demands are not wrong, in themselves, but a responsible proposal comes with an honest account of what it costs and who pays. Slogans are not policy.
Then there is Venezuela. Delcy Rodriguez, the Venezuelan President, recently addressed the United Nations on matters with serious implications for Guyana. Where was the response from the Opposition Leader or any other opposition voice? When the country’s territorial integrity is in question, silence is not neutrality. It is absence.
Climate change and food security deserve the same attention. Guyana is vulnerable to rising seas, and it is also expected to play a pivotal role in feeding the region. The country must reconcile fossil fuel production with environmental responsibility. These are generational questions that call for generational thinking, and Parliament is where that debate belongs.
The Attorney-General is right that a parliamentary opposition is the alternative government. That title carries a duty to bring the highest caliber of leadership to the people, to scrutinise policy at the level where policy is made, and to present alternatives that can withstand public examination.
Roads, farms, fencing and pump stations matter to the communities they serve, but a party that aspires to govern must also speak to the country’s direction, not only its potholes. Ad hominem exchanges and minutiae are not the work of national politicians.
Mr. Nandlall was careful to say he was not attacking the Opposition but appealing to it. Guyana’s democracy is strengthened when the government is pressed by a rival that is informed, prepared, and constructive.
A competent Opposition is not a favour to the government. It is a safeguard for the public.
The Opposition has the mandate, the platform and the responsibility. It should use all three on the issues that will define the nation’s future.