Opposition must see beyond narrow self-interest – Ali

By Michael Younge

Housing Minister Irfaan Ali

Senior Cabinet Minister Irfaan Ali has flayed the joint opposition political parties for continuously undermining principles such as trust, mutual respect and good faith in its dealings with the Donald Ramotar administration.
He has also accused the opposition of supporting organised violence and seeking to create instability and mayhem in the country through a series of opposition sponsored events.
Ali, who is also acting as tourism minister, explained that the much touted “new dispensation” in the National Assembly cannot deliver on the expectations of many as the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) continue to misuse their one-seat majority in the House.
“Their general behaviour undermines trust, collaboration, and compromise. The opposition’s continued irresponsibility and misuse of parliamentary power creates an atmosphere of uncertainty,” he emphasised during an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International on Saturday.
He said the Granger-Ramjattan-led opposition “is playing non-nationalistic politics; partisan politics and self-interest politics”, which would only lead to further deterioration in the relations between the executive and Parliament, and the government and the opposition.
Ali was adamant that building trust, understanding, respecting differences and achieving compromise were the hallmarks of the ruling administration’s track record in office, as he decried the continuous “back peddling on agreed positions”, “abandonment of policy agreements” and “deliberate misinformation” on the part of the opposition.

AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan

“They must not be unreasonable. It is a fact that they have been partisan in their discourse and approach to the government that was duly and legally elected by the people of our country,” he noted.
The minister disclosed that despite the fact that certain elements in the APNU and the AFC are continuing to erode the trust between the administration and the opposition, his party remains resolute and open to dialogue, especially if it will lead to the achievement of “greater national good”.
“The PPP believes in national unity and working towards responding to the needs of all of our people. We have made compromises and policy changes which we believe would improve the lives of all Guyanese. And we expect, that the opposition will cease their double standards and display decency, respect for the established parliamentary norms, the tripartite arrangements and our administration.”

Invitation
Back in May this year, President Donald Ramotar extended an olive branch to the opposition, inviting them to work with the government to ensure Guyana’s continued development.
The president in his flag raising address, which marked Guyana’s 46th Independence anniversary, said he is committed to working with all those who are interested in moving the country forward, noting that Guyanese would like to see all stakeholders working together, which was a dream at independence and still is a major national aspiration.

Opposition Leader David Granger

He said then that Guyana can achieve the great potential that is often spoken about with political will and trust, and noted that while the 2011 national elections have created new challenges to all the leaders, it is a time to show maturity and to put the interest of the country and people ahead of narrow self-interests.
“I will be a president that will listen to the opposition forces and anyone who comes to me with suggestions and proposals that are based on the development of the interest of this country, they would find a receptive ear in me,” Ramotar said.
Minister Ali, however, disagreed that the opposition has accepted the president’s offer as he pointed out a series of APNU/AFC sponsored events which have allegedly sought to create instability, a state of ungovernableness and disunity among Guyanese.
“Agricola is a prime example of the wickedness and poor leadership the opposition is displaying,” he said in a firm tone, arguing that “they want to drive terror and fear into the minds of Guyanese with the hope of racking up cheap political points”.
According to Ali, there is no dynamism under the new leadership of the APNU or the makeshift AFC entity.
“Innocent children were affected, hard working women and men beaten and robbed, thousands of Guyanese affected and people fearful for their lives… that was the story of Agricola… is there anything to be proud about there?” he reasoned. He said that the opposition inserted the usual “provocateurs and extremists” into the scheme of things at Agricola, hoping that it would have had a spill off effect on Guyanese communities, but they were rejected as messages of condemnation poured in from all corners.