Nagamootoo pledges no AFC pre-election alliance with APNU against PPP
Alliance For Change, Presidential hopeful, Moses Nagamootoo, publicly expressed yesterday that his party will not enter a pre-election alliance with the A Partnership for National Unity. But he gave commitments that his party will work along with the APNU against the interests of the Government.
Political pundits have long speculated on a possible alliance between the two parties against the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Administration. This was evident by the various attempts to ‘gang up’ against the Government in and out of the National Assembly.
Since the results of the 2011 general elections, the combined political Opposition, who controlled a one-seat majority in the National Assembly, have worked hand in hand against the interests of the elected Government and people of Guyana.
The combined Opposition have successfully cut billions of dollars from budgetary allocations for every year since they held a one seat majority in the National Assembly.
Projects which have fallen jeopardy to this informal coalition include the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion, the Amaila Falls Hydroelectricity Project which would have seen Guyana making significant strides in the energy and manufacturing sectors respectively.
Similarly, the combined Opposition have blocked funding for a number of Government programmes including the $1B Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) and $450M for loan subventions to University of Guyana students.
The most recent actions by the Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh in restoring sections of the budget from the contingency fund had incurred the wrath of the combined Opposition.
Although the move by Dr. Singh is provided for in the Guyana Constitution as well as the 2003 Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, the combined Opposition have threatened to put him before the Privileges Committee and have since threatened to pass a No Confidence Motion against the Guyana Government.
This move would see the end of the 10th Parliament and throwing the nation into early general elections. President Donald Ramotar, operating within his powers, has since suspended the National Assembly in hope that the APNU-AFC combined Opposition will engage the Government in talks on the way forward.
Those talks have since been abandoned by the combined Opposition who are adamant that no talks would commence without the lifting of the suspension of the 10th Parliament.