HISTORIC MOMENT IN GUYANA’S GOVERNANCE

- crunch time for budget vote

- Surujbally says GECOM ready to hold ‘snap poll’

Tuesday, 24 April 2012 23:39

Written by Rickey Singh -- in Barbados

Source - Guyana Chroniclee

TODAY could well be crunch time for the future of Guyana’s 10th Parliament, inaugurated just about ten weeks ago following last November 28 presidential and general election. The election had resulted in the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) -- in power for the past 19 years -- retaining the constitutionally-powerful executive presidency but losing control, by one seat, of the 65-member parliament to a coalition of two parties -- A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and

FITUG President Carvil Duncan

Alliance for Change (AFC).

The political rupture in the life of the five-year parliament, could emerge,  or be avoided, by a last-minute compromise between the government and the combined opposition over the nation’s 2012 Gy$192.8 Billion budget which is scheduled for a final vote today after some two weeks of fierce debates.

While President Donald Ramotar was presiding over the normal weekly cabinet meeting yesterday there were mounting speculations of a likely snap general election since the proposed budgetary cuts called for by the two opposition parties amount to approximately Gy$20 billion which Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh has deemed quite “unrealistic” and “unpatriotic”.

Critical areas identified for large chunks of cuts include the President’s Office, with the high profile and influential Head of the Presidential

GECOM Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally

Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon listed among casualties and also the government’s internationally known Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) in response to the phenomenon of climate change.

Further, a zero cut is being sought by the opposition for both the Government Information and News Agency (GINA) and the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN), comprising radio and television; as well as the slashing of Gy$1B in the estimates for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for long overdue local government election by at least the last quarter of this year.

GECOM’s readiness

President Donald Ramotar

As the governing and opposition parties were separately strategising over moves to unravel during today’s crucial final parliamentary session on the country’s 2012 budget, with increasing speculations of a new general election, this correspondent telephoned the GECOM chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally, to inquire about the Commission’s readiness for such a snap poll—less than five months after that of last November.

His response was that the independent and bi-partisan Commission, which has a programme of continuous voter-registration, would have “no problems in conducting, if so requested and consistent with the nation’s constitution, a new general election…”
Dr Surujbally, a long-serving chairman, explained that the additional Gy$1B sought in the AFC Leader budget by GECOM was in anticipation for the conduct of local government elections, and that there were already three related pieces of legislation awaiting parliamentary approval for arrangements to be pursued for such a poll.

“It is not for me or the members of the Commission (on which the government and opposition are represented) to determine the timing for either a local or national election, but at present we are ready to carry out requirements for the conduct of a snap general election….”

At the last general election, the incumbent PPP/C secured 32 of the 65 seats with 49 percent of the valid votes (166,340); the main opposition APNU (dominated by the old People’s National Congress) 26 seats with 48 percent (139,676 votes); and the AFC seven seats with 35,333 or some ten percent votes.

Opposition Leader David Granger

SOMERSAULTS

The saying that a week in politics could be a long time, now has to contend with the dramatic political developments in Guyana’s parliamentary politics over the past 72 hours with breaking news and commentaries competing in pro and anti-government media (print and electronic) dealing, first with reports of APNU’s so-called “deals” with the government on budgetary compromises, then subsequent somersaults in the face of strident criticisms of “sell out” from the minority AFC.

AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan, attorney at law, was pushed on the back foot last week when hundreds of government workers vigorously protested outside parliament against that party’s proposal for significant cuts in the budget that would have affected their terms of employment.

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh

Subsequently, APNU’s leader, retired Brigadier of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) felt compelled—in the face of an anti-budget protest-- to back-track on an agreement with the government, worked out with Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Finance Minister Singh.

This related to a phased programme to end the unique practice of residents of the bauxite town of Linden---some 65 miles away from Georgetown-- being excluded from paying for the consumption of electricity. This is contrary to an obligation being met by the rest of the Guyanese population.

The umbrella Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), whose membership embraces the oldest and some of the bigger unions, has already issued a warning to the opposition and the main opposition party in particular of what it deemed a “betrayal of the working class” by its opposition to specific aspects of the budget.

In a statement Monday night,  FITUG President, Carvil Duncan, who leads the Guyana Labour Union, pointed out that the 35,000-strong organisation view with “grave dismay” the proposed cuts by APNU, in particular, that seek to withdraw support for the Guyana Power & Light Inc.; the Amalia falls hydro-power project, as well as the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

He said that the proposed cuts were “hard to comprehend” and vowed that FITUG “stand ready to vigorously oppose it”.

The question is whether the now-on, now-off, compromises between the government and APNU over the budget, could survive today’s crucial vote without a compromise? We shall soon find out.