Time will tell how far we go under this new dispensation in the country’s parliament

Dear Editor,

Please grant me the opportunity to comment on an issue of national importance and which I think should be interpreted in such a way that ordinary Guyanese understand what is happening in the country. When they do not see the level of progress they expect, as major projects will be held up because of the lack of support from the opposition, they must understand why.

As a layman, I am beginning to think that much of what the government wants to do will be disrupted by the opposition in parliament. It is my view, and I am sure many other Guyanese feel the same way, that the one-seat majority that the combined opposition hold in Parliament, should not be used by them as an opportunity to render counter-productive measures for the country’s development.

At the end of the day, we must not forget that based on the country’s constitution, the PPP/C won the right to form the executive and they must be allowed to run the country. Of course, they cannot do so without the support of the legislature as this is also a very important arm of the state. However, lack of cooperation from the opposition and the fact that they want to make the government look bad, does the country more harm than good.

Editor, the February 16 sitting of the national assembly during which two papers totalling Gy$2,240,901,071 and Gy$3,471,047,823 were tabled by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh – this left the House in a position that was not contemplated in the country’s legal framework of governance.

Financial Paper 7 was debated and amended before being approved, as the opposition refused to support certain provisions that were being sought. During the debate on the second paper, they tabled an amendment for it to be withdrawn and restructured before being re-submitted. As expected, some of the objections raised by the opposition with regard to certain expenditures left parliamentarians on the government side stunned. And I believe that it is now beginning to dawn on them (PPP/C) how difficult it will be to push the parliamentary agenda forward.

I am not sure how far the government will get with its plans and policies they have developed for the country under this current dispensation. Will the opposition carry on in its usual manner, and what impact would it have on the country’s development? Time will tell. For sure, what is needed is for more mature judgment and enhanced decision- making as the preferred approach in dealing with issues surrounding Guyana’s development by all politicians serving in the parliament. The nation will judge whether our politicians have what it takes to work together to move our country forward.

Yours sincerely,

N Augustus