AFC wants tripartite meeting to discuss 2012 budget

Even as a meeting to discuss tripartite issues has been scheduled for later this week, the Alliance for Change (AFC) on Wednesday called on President Donald Ramotar to summon a meeting under the tripartite arrangement to examine and discuss the 2012 budget. The party in a statement to the media said it has already informed the Office of the President of its principals to be on the budget committee and is now awaiting the call from the OP to get down to the business at hand, noting that the budget is of critical importance.

According to the party, the issue must be treated by government as one that is of “top most” priority. “If we start immediately to examine the budget, the AFC is confident that the par ties involved will arrive at a consensual position on the budget that will serve in the best interest of Guyana’s development.” Opposition Leader and Chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) David Granger, however said there is no need to call on President Ramotar to summon a meeting to discuss the 2012 budget as Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira has informed members of the tripartite body of a scheduled meeting.

“APNU is engaged in a tripartite process with PPP and AFC and we are aware that Mrs. Teixeira on behalf of the president has already called a meeting,” Granger told Guyana Times on Wednesday. He noted that no specific day has been indicated but that meeting will more than likely occur before the end of this week.

Meanwhile, government’s spokesman, Dr Roger Luncheon at his post Cabinet press briefing, stated that Cabinet remains committed to the tripartite initiative which commenced in December 2011. He emphasised that the aim of the initiative is one to examine and treat with mutual concern the issues affecting all concerned parties.

Dr Luncheon noted that the parliamentary opposition parties have inclusively decided to discuss matters raised at the tripartite level, pointing to the recent election of the Speaker and deputy speaker posts by the opposition. “Concerns about the delay in consummating this engagement were already raised with them and in the public, the reasons for those delays Cabinet reasoned, previously mentioned have become increasingly obvious and to support that contention, Cabinet saw the two parliamentary opposition parties spending more time and significant effort in their unilateral efforts to address those concerns that they had raised in the tripartite levels, and in so doing, in unifying their positions on those matters.”

He termed the appointment of both Speaker and deputy speaker by the opposition as a “major political heist”. “The denials notwithstanding, the APNU and the AFC still managed in their cooperation, collaboration to pull one of the major political heists in Guyana’s parliamentary history that even the PNC Burnhamite dictatorship never stopped to and that is, to take both the Speaker and deputy speaker of the 10th Parliament.” Dr Luncheon said what is even more significant is the statement made by the newly- appointed Speaker, Raphael Trotman to ensure parliamentary impartiality.

“Even more significant is the then elected speaker notably committed to parliamentary impartiality, who, it is said is inclined to retain his appointment as the representative of the AFC list. You might be encouraged to examine the powers, role that the list has-has been credited with to understand the apprehension that has arisen in Parliament and in the public domain and in the PPP,” Luncheon remarked.

He said Cabinet at its Tuesday meeting questioned whether the AFC will collate further with the APNU to form one single majority party in Parliament, and whether they (the two opposition parties) will continue to extend their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and collectively turn their attention to the composition and chairmanship of parliamentary committees.

“These matters would of course be unveiled as we approached the continuation of the engagement that is currently being sought, and of course, on the 10th February when these matters would be decided on.”