Former Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) says it is optimistic that there will be consensus on the national budget, thus avoiding any stalemate that could force snap elections. Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday afternoon, former Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran said he does not anticipate that any of the issues raised by the opposition on the budget will be overlooked.
He was at the time responding to questions posed by the media on whether his party would
call for fresh elections should the opposition refuse to vote in favour of the 2012 national budget.
“I don’t think that the question is for the government to consider elections. If on a vital matter like the budget, the opposition does not support the government then elections have to be held. But I don’t anticipate that, and I don’t anticipate any difficulty; I am confident that both government and opposition want to have an agreed budget: it is in the interest of both sides of the House, and it is in the interest of the country, and I am sure that both sides will try very hard to have an agreed budget. I don’t see that there should be any reason why the matters that have been publicly pressed by the opposition cannot be addressed in some way and, in some way, accommodated.”
The Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) control the National Assembly. Ramkarran, a lawyer by profession, stated that both sides are mature enough to ensure that all issues surrounding the 2012 budget are resolved.
“You will note that President Ramotar himself before he was president talked about the VAT, which is one of the things the opposition was talking about. I don’t anticipate any difficulty emerging, I anticipate intense discussion.
“I believe that both sides are mature enough to understand the times and the necessities of the times and that they will work things out.”
He added that President Donald Ramotar had publicly announced that he is committed to working with the opposition for the development of the country and more so in matters related to Parliament.
Demonstration of
interest and concern
Meanwhile, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud said that his party and administration expect “a demonstration of interest and concern for the nation’s development”. He noted that should there be a delay in the tabling of the 2012 budget then the country would be at a standstill. Constitutionally, government is required to have the budget tabled by March 31.
“We cannot have money for roads, bridges, health, to pay wages or anything else so everything comes to a standstill. So, it would be callous of the opposition to, in any shape or form, block development from taking place….” He noted, however, on the issue of a snap election that there are two possibilities: “The opposition by a simple vote of no-confidence can in a way force us to have elections, and the president would have to call fresh elections within three months. That is the reality.
“There is another reality where the president can dissolve Parliament and call elections within three months.” Persaud, however, stated that in such an environment, the progress of the country should come first and as such all should work together in the interest of developing the country.
“One would expect that in an environment where the progress of the country should come first, there are people working together and not taking us back into an atmosphere of elections and focusing on Guyana working forward than talking about elections and the threat… I don’t think that is helpful and it is out of tune with what is required in this new dispensation and we would expect that that level of maturity and sincerity to the development of our country will prevail.” The party noted that it would not be surprised if the opposition were to call for fresh elections given the occurrences of January 12 at the opening of the National Assembly.
Granger not
fearful of snap election
Opposition Leader David Granger said the budget is of great importance to the country and people and as such, the combined opposition is not “interested in merely being told what the budget will contain, we know that huge sums of money are kept off the budget”. He added that it is time to “put an end to the charade”, noting that the opposition wants to ensure that all revenues are used for the benefit of the people.
“… We don’t want confrontation. We want to ensure there is better governance, we want to ensure that there is better financial management, we want to ensure that the institutions on which this country relies… those institutions are re-established and respected,” he stated.
Granger added that he is not fearful of a snap election being called. “If they want to go back to the same people, they will be in for a big surprise because the attitudes which gave a victory to AFC and APNU have not changed. So, I think we are making a big mistake if they think that what happened on the 28th of November was a flash in the pan.”
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