Ramkarran defends AFC’s vote on Amaila
…says party showed independence, had nation’s interest at heart
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran, believes that the Alliance For Change (AFC) may have shown its political independence and had the nation’s interest at heart when it backed legislations for the Amaila Falls Hydro project.
Ramkarran, a long-time senior People’s Progressive Party executive, who resigned from that entity last year after penning a critical piece on corruption, stated in his blog site, conversationtree.gy over the weekend, that AFC’s supporting vote in the National Assembly for two pieces of legislations was a major statement defining the party’s strategy.
Former House Speaker, Ralph Ramkarran
“The issue before the National Assembly was whether Amaila, which has public support, should live or die before the IDB report. The AFC decided that there was no reason to kill Amaila now. This decision emphasized its independence, separated it from APNU and demonstrated to PPP supporters that it can be trusted to protect the nation’s interests,” Ramkarran wrote.
Government had tabled two bits of legislations, which it said were critical to part financing of the project. One of the legislation had to do with raising the limits of Guyana’s debt ceiling to $150B from $1B while the other concerns the creation of reserve area to cater for the possible environmental fallouts of the project. While the AFC backed Government on the legislations, it asked for the ceiling to be adjusted to $50B. APNU voted against the legislations.
Sithe Global, the US developer immediately announced its pullout, citing the failure of the Parliamentary political parties to agree on the project.
Government had immediately said that the project was “dead” and that future investments from overseas may be in jeopardy. The project has sharply divided political parties with the Diplomatic Community and Private Sector urging for talks to end the stalemate position. APNU has refused to budge from its position.
Ramkarran said that AFC made its position on Amaila known from the outset. That is, it would rely on the outcome of the IDB’s assessment of the project in order to determine whether or not to support it.
Ramkarran also pointed out that while AFC initially was concerned, when confronted with Sithe Global’s position that unless there was full Opposition support for the legislation, it would terminate its interest, the party “quite consistently”, decided that it would vote to let the project live until the crucial IDB report was available.
The former Speaker admitted that disclosures that AFC’s Chairman, Nigel Hughes was the Secretary of the Amaila Falls Hydro Inc., the local operating company of the project, may have complicated the situation for the party.
AFC had come under some severe criticisms for not disclosing Hughes’ association publicly.
“The criticisms of the AFC appear to suggest that it opportunistically voted for the legislation at the behest of its Chairman. But in fact, the AFC was maintaining its consistency and credibility while protecting its electoral and political interests,” Ramkarran stressed.
Ramkarran, a prominent lawyer, pointed out that AFC is a third party in Guyana with no ideological or class base or distinct political philosophy. “So far, it has received only a protest vote but unlike all other third parties, it increased its vote at the second elections it contested. In the 2006 elections, its support came from disaffected PNCR supporters. In 2011 that vote evaporated.”
Instead, AFC got the “disaffected PPP vote”.
Ramkarran believed that the AFC is fully aware that it needs to recapture the votes from the PNCR that it lost as well as to maintain and expand its support from disaffected PPP supporters. “While this needs very hard work and a sensible and creative political strategy, the PPP is making it easy for them by its abusive political strategy and go-it-alone policy.
The continuing difficulties in the sugar industry continue to create opportunities for the AFC to recruit support and its work among rice farmers, despite the growth in the rice industry and Amerindians are paying dividends.”
Regarding the PNCR, the major partner of APNU, that party has not yet recognized the need to say something to PPP supporters about its policies of the past. “Only then will it be able to successfully court disaffected PPP supporters or at least remove the fears which still exist of the PNC among this large block of voters and make it easier for the AFC."
