APNU and AFC always had a pact – Minister Edghill
February 21, 2015, Source - Guyana Chronicle
MINISTER within the Ministry of Finance Juan Edghill, on a recent ‘Meet the Minister’ programme, on the National Communications Network (NCN) in Linden commented on a number of pre-elections issues, one of which dealt profoundly with the new political alliance in the country.The minister opined that in any democracy, the emergence of political forces and coming together of alliances and coalitions can be considered a very healthy development. However, as regards the coalescing of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), he thinks that it was the fruition of a most evident pact between the two parties.
The minister recalled that from the first day of the 10th Parliament, it was very clear that the AFC and APNU were in tandem. According to him, the evidence resides in numberless activities of collusion against the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C). Minister Edghill cited the many budget cuts, the blocking of Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Power Project, the move against the Marriott Hotel, starving the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion Project of funds, and the blocking of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) bill as irrefutable evidence, which point to the pact between the two parties.
The minister deemed this as ‘living home’ if one were to invoke the Creolese vernacular. He stated that what the public is now seeing is simply what the PPP/C always knew, but only now they, the AFC and APNU, have come out openly. On Valentine’s Day, APNU and the AFC officially announced that they would contest the May 11 poll, under a single slate.
The two parties arrived at an agreement titled the ‘Cummingsburg Accord’ based on the location where the deal was made, that is, the Georgetown Club, Camp Street, Cummingsburg. The accord detailed that David Granger will be the Presidential candidate and Moses Nagamootoo, the Prime Ministerial one. Also, Granger‘s APNU will be allowed one Vice President and Nagamootoo’s AFC two. The Cummingsburg Accord will also cede 12 seats to the AFC.
NO FEAR
Minister Edghill further stated that the APNU/AFC conjoining does not bother the PPP/C because people have now become ‘tired and fed-up’ with them and their blocking of Guyana’s development.
He explained that the coalition has, instead, serious cause for worrying, as the AFC had seven seats, but was promised 12 (for the upcoming elections). The mathematics of this is that five APNU Members of Parliament will have to be displaced, and this means that a lot of APNU supporters would start asking questions.
Minister Edghill pointed to a second ‘fear factor’ for the APNU/AFC combination, that of the public display of self-interest. He noted that “the alliance is not about an agreement that relates to a programme for Guyana’s development, it is not an agreement which seeks jobs for young people, a turnaround plan for Linden, or GuySuCo, or to expand rice markets.” These things, he added, are what the PPP/C is all about, and has been about for over two decades.
However, where the alliance is concerned, he highlighted that “it reflects a power hungry group, on the sharing of the pie.” The minister said the elections have not been won as yet, and the members are already fighting over positions.
He thus criticised this kind of attitude from members of the alliance, and asked if they should not instead “come to the people with a programme, that would entice them and engage them to vote for them (APNU/AFC).”
According to the minister, “if that is the thinking of the leaders of the APNU and the AFC, if it’s all about sharing positions, then the people would judge them harshly come the May 11, 2015 Elections.”
CONFIDENCE
Minister Edghill also rode a confident PPP/C wave, as he described some of the problems regarding the integrity of the APNU/AFC mix. He explained that AFC in particular, got some recent support based on a deception, as the AFC told Lindeners that the government was neglecting Linden and putting resources in Berbice; conversely, the party went to Berbice and said that the people there are being neglected, because the government is putting $2.9B in Linden. This kind of deception is now very known and abhorred and will cost the ‘alliance’ a lot.
As for APNU, which for Minister Edghill is really the People’s National Congress (PNC), the deal was with the WPA, which did not have a big following. However, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine became the Prime Ministerial candidate in exchange for his support. As this current formula stands, it means that ‘somebody’ has to be shifted to put in Nagamootoo. He further expounded that the matter is even more complicated, when the PNC portion is factored in, as its front runners are now concerned with the new arrangement, and many of them are not pro-Granger.
Even before the alliance, Mr. Edghill pointed out that there was a major falling out among Granger, Oscar Clarke and Vanessa Kissoon. The minister suggested that “maybe this is an opportunity that the new coalition could use to get rid of those persons who are not in agreement with Granger and the PNC.” Mr. Edghill recalled that Region 10 was hostile and maybe is still volatile, noting that David Granger was actually booed out of the region. --- (GINA)
