Avoid any query of governmental actions

The PPP government has lived up to the expectations of every right thinking Guyanese; it has proven itself to be rogues clothed in a tattered democracy.  Reasonable persons are loathe to believe that the PPP can win back a parliamentary majority in any local or general elections.  Regardless of the claims by the government spokespersons the effect of terminating the business of the 10th Parliament is to give the PPP space to run, hide and lick its wounds while looking over its shoulder at a decidedly narrow escape.  But as the saying goes, ‘you can run, but you can’t hide forever’.
It is no secret that serious mistakes were made on the question of reconvening the Parliament. The view out there is that more assertiveness should have been exercised in the initial stages.  As former Speaker Sase Narain suggested, the opposition parties should have informed themselves on a particular relationship issue.  This would have prevented them from being caught off guard by what was evidently a flawed opinion as to who has the authority to convene the National Assembly.
The President is arguing that his decision is based upon his expectation that prorogation will allow the parliamentary parties to dialogue.  The obvious question that arises from that comment is, “Is the President for real?’
The Head of State spoke out prior to the Opposition Leader’s position on the lack of good faith by the PPP. Now the Guyanese people are fed a dose of nonsense that Granger started it.  We are in the midst of a serious constitutional impasse and grown men are trading blame, and in all of this the President still hopes to see engagement and dialogue when the Opposition requests are ignored.
The President’s decision to end the session has effectively terminated the business of the House.  The members can only resume their parliamentary duties when Parliament is next summoned, and there is no clear indication when this will be.  In that scenario, therefore, to suggest dialogue and agreement among parties is a non-starter, because in effect any such engagement will be extra-parliamentary since no committee can meet to discuss parliamentary business.
All unfinished business on the Order Paper died and all committees are without power to transact business.  All Bills not assented to, are considered terminated and must be reintroduced as if they never saw light of day.
However, in more mature polities (and Guyana is not on that list) Bills have been reinstated by motion at the start of a new session, at the same stage they had reached at the end of the previous session; committee work has similarly been revived.
Political observers are inclined to the thinking that President Ramotar’s administration is afraid to defend its record because there is nothing positive to report in a squalid atmosphere that abounds with established acts and rumours of corruption, malfeasance, misfeasance and misadvisement.
Furthermore, taking the track record of PPP leaders into account there is no guarantee that the President will not proclaim the reconvening of Parliament, only to again prorogue the session for another period in the hopes that Guyanese will fall asleep and forget the misadventures of this uncaring elitist government.
Government will leave no stone unturned in its unseemly quest to avoid accountability to the Guyanese people.  The opposition parties need to think out their strategy very carefully if they are to succeed in bringing this government to its senses.
Looking at all the sand dancing and excuses why local government elections could not be held, it is ironic and pathetic to now hear that the Opposition’s position with a no-confidence motion would have disrupted the very elections for which they have been clamouring.
The obsequious words of support from certain civil society members are to be expected but their sycophantic conduct will extract a severe cost to their image in terms of the general public’s discontent with their position on the government decision.
Plain and simple President Ramotar’s decision to prorogue is about one thing and one thing only – avoiding the scrutiny of a debate in Parliament at a time when this government is facing tough questions about its conduct in expending public monies from the national treasury.