November 16, 2014

PRESS  STATEMENT

“Dialogue the preferred way to go” says President Ramotar;

 But your actions speak louder than your words Mr. President!

The Alliance For Change continues to note the flurry of public statements attributed to President Donald Ramotar on his desire for “Dialogue” with the opposition. Most recently in his press conference of Friday November 14, 2014 he declared “Dialogue is the preferred way to go.”  The AFC notes with alarm that the President now clearly believes the political rhetoric and propaganda he has spewed for most of this year and in the process has either forgotten or has lost touch with reality. The Alliance For Change will therefore refresh the President’s memory as he has clearly forgotten that the last time he extended an invitation to the parliamentary opposition to meet at a tripartite level was on February 26, 2014.  Nearly nine months have passed and in that time we Guyanese have swam in a sea of conflict and confrontation which has plagued President Ramotar’s administration, during which time his government has displayed no attempt to engage the majority parliamentary opposition in dialogue. Public records will show that since February 2014 President Ramotar has placed emphasis on meeting key private sector organisations and stakeholder groups on a range of contentious issues ranging from passage of the anti money laundering legislation to the current constitutional crisis. At no point in time was the joint parliamentary opposition invited to participate in talks of any kind! At the end of June 2014, the AFC in correspondence to the President laid out its 10-point list of areas of concern. This included demands for the upholding of the non-negotiable provisions of Guyana’s constitution, namely the establishment of the public procurement commission, the local government commission, and the human rights commission, the holding of local government election after an absence of more than two decades. The appointment of opposition members to state boards, the halting of illegal spending and the holding of “meaningful tripartite talks” to reach consensus on a security reform strategy and job creation opportunities for unemployed youth was raised amongst other things. On July 17, 2014 the AFC again wrote the President highlighting the Party’s deep concern over the unauthorized and unconstitutional withdrawals from the consolidated fund by the Minister of Finance. This we highlighted was in direct contravention to Article 217 of the Guyana constitution and section 16 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act. The AFC on that occasion signaled its intention under article 106 (6) of the constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to lay a motion of No Confidence against the Ramotar government as no other option appeared in sight. This motion was eventually laid on August 10, 2014 with no engagement during the more than three-month period of parliamentary recess. The Alliance For Change therefore remains surprised at Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon’s recent statement that the “PPP-C went the extra mile”. This and the President’s ramblings this last week can only be viewed with the skepticism it deserves. After all Mr. President – your actions speak louder than your words. The Alliance For Change reminds private sector groups, stakeholders and civil society of these facts.