The opposition is on trial

Both APNU and the AFC are on trial. If they do not withstand scrutiny from the people of Guyana, then they face political obliteration. Both the AFC and APNU are labouring under the misconception that the increasing hatred of the PPP by this nation will translate into growing embrace for them. There is nothing scientific about that connection. The human mind is not subject to scientific prediction. A nation can turn away from politics if they feel hopeless about the prospects of the opposition checking the excesses of a government. This does not mean that the opposition has power to confront and win all its battles with a sitting regime. But citizens expect the opposition to effectively use whatever leverage the political configuration gives to it. In the case of Guyana, the electoral victory has bestowed immense latitude on the opposition. This gateway does not lead to Executive power, but what it does is create space for the opposition to pressure the regime. A parliamentary majority does that. No greater example is the regime’s need for the opposition to pass Bills, and the anti-money laundering is now the focus of nation’s attention. In a meeting with the AFC last week, based on the AFC’s report of the meeting with Ramotar, Luncheon and Teixeira, the Government had sought refuge in morbid inflexibilities that should never be tolerated by the opposition. If the Government cannot concede of any of the demands as adumbrated in the AFC’s press statement, then the opposition should not pass the anti-money laundering Bill First, the Berbice toll. No other adjective best describes Mr. Ramotar’s position on this than nonsensical. If the President is saying that he cannot tamper with the rights of a private company, then point taken. But he is tampering with the rights of the Guyanese people by the State’s refusal to permit private speedboats to cross from Rosignol to New Amsterdam. This is a fundamental right that the opposition should test in the courts. Any minute of the day from Monday to Sunday before 18.00h you can go behind the Stabroek Market, pay a hundred dollars and step into a speedboat to cross the Demerara River to the west coast of the Atlantic. Why can’t you do the same crossing on the Berbice River? If it is not the State’s business to tell a private company how much it must charge then why for the past ten years has the State stopped the minibus owners from raising their fare? Secondly, NCN. Nonsensical should be replaced with the word depraved to describe President Ramotar’s orientation on the role of NCN. According to the AFC, Mr.  Ramotar said that NCN has to act as a counter-balance to the coverage of the private media. Here is where you see the power mentality of the PPP coming in. Guyanese do not pay taxes to upkeep the private media. Private money does that. NCN is a State entity. Parliament is part of the State. The Opposition Leader’s Office is part of the State. NCN has to give adequate coverage to these institutions. Opposition parties were elected by the people. The resources of the State should be made available to the people and their representatives. The opposition should not let the Government get away with this power lust. If NCN cannot be fair in its coverage of the politicians who speak on behalf of the citizenry then APNU and the AFC should not pass the anti-money laundering legislation. Finally, the NIS. If the Government wants to keep Roger Luncheon as Chairman then the opposition should not object. A chairman is just one member of a council with certain residue of power, but the majority vote is paramount in any board. The Chairman can disagree how much he wants, but majority vote rules. For this reason, the opposition should let the Government keep Luncheon with all his deficiencies, but insist on a professional board with independent members. The NIS is such a priceless institution in Guyana that no Guyanese can be that stupid to accept it to be a political toy. Look at the disaster that visited the NIS under Jagdeo’s tenure. Realpolitik has caught up with the PPP. At no time in modern history can you find an example where a government needs the support of a national stakeholder for its survival but that stakeholder blindly concedes to the authoritarian instincts of the government without a quid pro quo. Politics has never been like this. If the PPP Government wants its anti-money laundering Bill passed then it must be made to cough-up concessions like a mad wave rushing to the shore