August 30,2016 Source
The Alliance For Change (AFC), a critical part of the Coalition Government, is insisting that it remains a powerful voice in the administration of this country.
Grilled recently about perception and claims in some quarters that his party has become overwhelmed by A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), which forms a major part of the coalition, AFC’s leader, Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan, was quick to dismiss this and to make it clear that any such thinking could only be a figment of the imagination of the Opposition.
“Total trash…everyday you read the newspaper, AFC members are in them. They are doing a great job. Not that the APNU ministers are not performing…all of them are performing.”
Ramjattan’s party has eight ministers in the Coalition which came to power last year May after the short-lived term of the Donald Ramotar-led administration of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), a party that had been in power for over two decades.
AFC was formed two elections ago by senior officials of the PPP/C and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).
“AFC ministers have been holding their own. Minister (David) Patterson (Ministry of Public Infrastructure) has been doing a fine job. There are so many changes being made by the Business Ministry (headed by Minister Dominic Gaskin). So this concept we are swamped by the APNU, is nonsense,” Ramjattan stressed.
AFC’s voice in the coalition is not limited at the ministerial level. It is felt also in the National Assembly, where the Leader of the House, is Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.
“We have a huge voice in the Cabinet…in the National Assembly. We are doing our jobs and people are seeing us for what we are…worthy ministers and Cabinet members.”
Ramjattan was also quick to point out that AFC parliamentarians have been doing their job, including one major amendment recently to the anti-narcotics law.
“We have parliamentarians who have brought amendments to the Narcotics Act…this propaganda is being spouted by the PPP to bring division to the two partners…that is what it is all about.”
The AFC leader, a lawyer by profession, believes that one of the biggest strengths of the coalition is the fact that President Granger appreciates what the AFC members are doing.
“He is an extremely balanced statesman.”
The Public Security Minister also pointed out that because of the coalition, APNU and AFC members have been given a ministerial voice, with all Guyana now benefiting.
“Imagine if we did not do what we did, would we have gone and done all forensic audits to see how the PPP was thieving? Would we have gone on to start budgeting in December? We are dealing with oil now that will bring wealth to us in a couple years.”
Ramjattan admitted that the Coalition Government is not without its problems.
“This is normal in democracies. That maybe is the greatness of it too. We are going to have mistakes made and opinions too. The press is going to be there, the columnists are going to be there. The Opposition will create difficulties…but that is the journey of democracies.”
Ramjattan made it clear that the administration is doing a good job.
“We are doing a wonderful job, in my opinion, knowing all the constraints, in a culture where there are so much ethnic differences and lack of social cohesion that we are trying to build. We are doing very well.”
“Lots of things we are still learning. I personally had to go to my PS (Permanent Secretary) at times about a particularly procedure in government. But we are getting there, because we are all bright people.”
Ramjattan appealed to citizens for “the recognition of our honesty and the fact that we are quickly trying to remedy the situations that arise”.
