Opposition Leader labels President Granger’s address a “desecration of House”
October 14, 2016 By Editor
…“Granger remains aloof of policies and decisions of State”
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has rejected outright, the latest offer of conciliation across the aisle by Head of State President David Granger, saying he is not only aloof and out of touch with reality, but is in fact not serious about.
“The President does not mean it, he just says these things that sound good,” declared Jagdeo, who was at the time weighing in on the President’s offer of an ‘olive branch’ minutes after he would have launched a scathing attack on the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) while in office.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo addressing the media
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo addressing the media
Granger was at the time addressing the National Assembly on Thursday, as the House reconvened following its annual two-month recess.
Jagdeo suggested that Granger’s offer of a renewed conciliatory approach in building bridges between government and opposition was, “an almost after thought.”
He lamented the fact that Granger used his address to Parliament to label the PPP/C as criminals and responsible for many of the current economic and social woes being experienced but still, “thinks there is room for us to work; he has said this many time, it’s all rhetoric.”
Explaining his party’s decision to boycott the President’s address to the House, Jagdeo told the media that this course of action was a principled one in retaliation to Granger’s decision to abuse his Executive Power when he suspended Carvil Duncan—the holder of a number of Constitutionally protected offices.
According to Jagdeo, the PPP/C thought it necessary to send a strong signal to the President that Constitutional protection must not be treated with lightly and, “we believe the whole affair surrounding Carvil Duncan has been treated in a cavalier manner by Government.”
In fact, he called the development “ominous for future of our democracy.”
Executive interference
He accused the President of interference when he first called on Duncan to resign with the inducement of a monetary package and when this was refused, he suspended him.
The former President questioned if this was the fate that befell Duncan who was endowed with constitutional protection, what obtains with the ordinary citizen employed as a waitress or a farmer placed in a similar position.
“This is direct interference by the Executive in trying to get a constitutional post holder to succumb to their will,” said Jagdeo.
With regard to the PPP/C sticking firm to its decision to walk out on the President ahead of his presentation, Jagdeo said had his party stayed, it would have eventually still opted to boycott the President’s speech given its content.
”The President cannot be doing this and come to this Chamber, the birthplace of our laws and clothe himself in democratic garb which he sought to do today… it runs counter to everything they have spoken about in the past,” according to Jagdeo.
Desecrate Parliament
According to Jagdeo, what the President did through his speech was to desecrate the hallowed chambers of Parliament
Jagdeo, following the President’s address, met with members of the local media corps in the Parliamentary Committee room to rubbish the presentation by the President calling some of his proposals not only ominous but downright dangerous.
He pointed to the legislative agenda outlined by the President and singled out the proposed amendments to the Immigration Laws and another to make provision for a National Registration Bill.
Jagdeo said the two Bills on the face of it were cause for immediate concern. He drew reference to the PPP/C’s imputations of a sinister move afoot with regard to the possible rigging of any future national and regional elections.
“This could have a huge impact on elections in the future,” Jagdeo said, as he noted that fresh in the minds of some were the administration of the People’s National Congress and its management of General Elections locally.
“Those days are still fresh in the minds of some people,” Jagdeo said.
He recalled, too, a recent announcement by Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix, about the need to import some 300,000 birth registration forms.
Sinister thing
On the matter of the National Registration Amendment Bill to include greater use of biometrics, Jagdeo said this is supposed to be a function of the independent Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) adding, “this is a very sinister thing”
Turning his attention to the substantive attacks launched by Granger, the Opposition Leader sought to point out that it was illustrative of how “aloof the President is…He comes routinely and speaks about all sorts of issue that have very little relevance to people life.”
Describing Granger as out of touch with reality, the former President observed that his presentation began with a hostile attack on the PPP/C, referring to its time in office as the decade of trouble.
The troubles, according to Jagdeo, were laid squarely at the feet of the PPP/C and not at the feet of the ‘drug dealers’ the ‘insurgents’ or ‘freedom fighters’ that had laid siege to Buxton, East Coast Demerara.
These groups, he said, were randomly killing citizens and members of the disciplined services but this was not acknowledged by Granger.
Jagdeo recalled too that there was not a single word of condemnation from the PNC at the time—the party now headed by Granger.
Jagdeo also used the occasion to take to task Granger’s suggestion that during that period there was the uninvestigated murder of a sitting Minister of Government—the late Agriculture Minister, Satyadeow ‘Sash’ Sawh.
The former President dismissed this assertion by the President as “not true” saying that a person was in fact charged and placed before the courts with the murder of Minister Sawh. “The police have a full file,” said Jagdeo.
Colonial stooge
The President in his addressed also lambasted the then PPP/C government for its abandonment of the British-funded security sector reform project.
Jagdeo was adamant that the abandonment of this project was in the interest of the nation and that Guyana was no longer going to be a stooge of colonial powers.
“I said once I am president that is not going to happen so there was a reason for this, we not going to trade our sovereignty for this colonial power to put conditions that may harm our community or create problem with neighbour.”
He was making reference to the British Government’s then insistence on staging a live fire exercise close to the border with Venezuela.
Jagdeo also sought to lash out at President Granger’s talk of inheriting a parlous and grizzly economy and pointed to the fact that Guyana has not only enjoyed sustained growth over the past 10 years but would have also significantly reduced its debt to GDP ratio—to the third lowest in the hemisphere. The President’s assertions according to Jagdeo, aptly demonstrates how out of touch with reality he is and suggested his belief that Granger himself may not be in agreement with much of what he espouses.
He questioned how President Granger could on one hand bemoan the state of the economy then on the other speak of many of the initiatives instituted by his administration such as increases in public servants’ wages and salaries, among other benefits such as old age pension.
According to the former President, now Opposition Leader, many of the proposals that have been touted by the current President are in fact projects that would have been borne out of the PPP/C administration.
He drew reference to the president’s adumbration of ICT and environmental projects, all of which were started under the PPP/C but now adopted as its own by the coalition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government.
“How could a President not know that his entire government is operating in a manner on policy that are so opposed to the broad statements that he made…. Maybe he does know but this is part of the show to dupe the people,” Jagdeo concluded.

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