On good sense, patriotism and opposition politics

BUDGET Day has come and gone, with the great expectations from the Guyanese people largely fulfilled; that is, if the joint Opposition’s axes and scissors do not prevail over the Constitution. However, utterances from the combined opposition is once more casting a dark shadow over the nation as they continue to threaten to cut the budget, despite the court ruling that determined that this does not lie within their mandate.
Their stated intent to disregard the dictates of the law and parliamentary diktat is casting a pall of gloom because of the fear – especially in hinterland communities that once again funding for the development of hinterland communities will be vindictively targeted, as the LCDS was, for no other reason than the LCDS was the brainchild of Former President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, with whom leading members of the Opposition seem to have a queer obsession – queer being the operative word, with pun intended.
Yet the hope that the collective Opposition will allow their good sense and any iota of patriotism they may have remaining to prevail over partisan, vindictive and opportunistic politics so that the business of the country can move on smoothly; as this country is still reeling from the aftermath of Opposition grandstanding and politicking post Budget Days 2012 and 2013, especially the events post-Budget 2012 that left this country with mammoth loss of personal and state property, great suffering and trauma in hinterland communities and sections of the sector, also in members of the public not inclined to violence who were caught up in the ensuing storm; and, worse of all, the tragic loss of lives.
President Donald Ramotar had cautioned the opposition against LCDS budget cuts, stating that he is hopeful patriotism will triumph over partisanship.
The President said: “The Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) exists on a foundation built by the people of Guyana, but this foundation can be damaged or destroyed…we all have a responsibility to make sure this does not happen.” Nevertheless the scissors were wielded with a ruthlessness that left this country gasping and Amerindian communities hopeless.
The hinterland communities of mainly indigenous peoples of Guyana have preserved Guyana’s rainforests, hence, Guyana can today bargain on the international market, as structured in the LCDS, for funds that will help in adaptation and mitigation efforts in Guyana’s struggles to prevail against climate change. However, the Opposition had fought against the LCDS and had even managed to delay the release of the Norway funds to Guyana.
Their budget cuts of 2012, especially of the entire LCDS allocation, shocked even hard-core journalists and detrimentally affected a wide swath of national developmental programmes, especially in the hinterland.
The president had said then that as long as there is a reasonable attitude on the part of the Guyanese leadership, particularly on the political front, despite the threats being uttered, “…then we can deliver on the ambitions of the LCDS in the years ahead.” But the President’s optimistic expectations were crushed under the might of the Opposition six-votes, one-seat majority. Reasonable expectations do not always fructify in reasonable eventualities: Certainly not with Guyana’s collective Opposition. What is occurring and recurring in Guyana’s tenth Parliament is a farce of tragic proportions.
The LCDS has already earned millions of US dollars for Guyana from its pact with Norway since its launch. According to the Head-of-State in an earlier interview with the Guyana Chronicle, in 2009, within the context of the LCDS, Guyana’s vision was to ensure that the standing forests remain of far more value than dead forests.
He related that more than 11,000 indigenous families now have electricity for the first time from clean and renewable sources and that very soon the solar panel project will also reach the riverine communities.
Norway pays for climate services, said President Ramotar, but added the “vision of LCDS goes much further.
“Thousands of young Guyanese are experiencing the early stages of our new low carbon economy in a very real way,” said President Ramotar, in reference to the booming call centre industry locally, which he said aptly demonstrates that Guyanese can compete with any of the other countries in the world.
“This year, (2012) we will see the big transformative investments of LCDS starting to bear fruit,” but that was a vain hope as the entire LCDS budgetary allocation was slashed, leaving the entire nation shocked.
According to the President, despite Opposition’s antics that succeeded in driving away investors, Government will forge on with transformative projects, such as the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric project, which, coupled with an upgraded distribution network, will provide a steady source of clean renewable energy.
The hundreds of millions of dollars spent each year on importing fossil fuel, particularly for the generation of electricity, can be invested elsewhere for the social well-being of Guyanese.
The Amaila Falls project will see Guyana propelled to the status of being the top user of clean energy, while eliminating 92 per cent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
However, all these projects can be derailed if the Opposition’s anti-developmental strategies hold sway. One can only hope that the threats already uttered will prove to be empty for the sake of this nation, for which the erstwhile Members of Parliament have been elected to make determinations toward the general good of the larger society, and not to pursue their personal agendas.

extracted from the Guyanachronicle