Rohee to Opposition on ‘No Confidence’ motion… ‘Put up’ or ‘shut up’

July 1, 2014, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source

“The Peoples Progressive Party challenges the opposition parties to demonstrate their testicular capacity by giving effect to their stated desire for a no-confidence motion in parliament, failing which they should shut up and forever hold their peace.”

General Secretary of the PPP Clement Rohee

This was PPP General Secretary, Clement Rohee, towards the combined political opposition, the Alliance for Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

The AFC had indicated that it would be contemplating bringing a motion of no confidence against the PPP government since all of the changes that it bargained for, the development of the country have not been given an ear by the government.

In addition, there was the Finance Minister “violation of the law” by spending $4.5B of monies not approved by the National Assembly in the 2014 budget.

AFC’s motion would however, have no effect if it didn’t have the support of the main political opposition APNU. APNU has since established that they had to discuss the matter but the end result would be that they might support it.

According to Rohee, the fact is that both the AFC and the APNU are “basking in the glory of their combined Parliamentary one-seat majority which they fully well know would not continue in any future elections.

“The statements by the opposition are therefore nothing but the work of a politically bankrupt opposition intended to make up for their pathetic performance in and out of Parliament rather than out of any clear and well thought out position.”

Elections posturing

If a motion of no confidence is passed on the current government, then a period of six months is given before National Elections are called.

Rohee, who is of the opinion that the opposition would lose its one-seat majority should new elections be held, was asked to justify his statements against the backdrop the statement by former political executive and analyst Ralph Ramkarran, who is contending that the new elections could yield the same results.

He responded that everyone is free to give their prognosis of what they discern or predict based on their analysis that could be the outcome of any future elections.

“What I am saying is on the part of the PPP, we remain eternally optimistic about our possibilities, our prospects at any future elections held in Guyana. This optimism that we have is based on the work that we have been doing on the ground, the feedback that we have been receiving in terms of those areas where we suffered losses because we have been doing a lot of targeting and not scattershot work.

“Our work is more targeted, more concentrated and more results oriented” said Rohee.

The GS added, “The comments that I made about how the party sees the outcome of any future elections with respect to the opposition losing its one-seat majority, that is a great possibility as far as our analysis shows, the fear with respect to the outcome of any future elections returning to be the same, that for us is more imagined than real.”

Rohee was then asked that, if there is passage of the no confidence motion in Parliament by the combined opposition and elections have to be held, does the PPP intend to have Donald Ramotar as the Presidential candidate or is there a possibility that someone else would be used?

To that he responded, “I am not prepared at this point to get in the realm of speculative politics when it comes to housekeeping matters of the PPP, and its future move in respect to such matters. When we come to that bridge we will cross it.”

He was then asked if he would be interested in being the Presidential candidate if a no confidence motion is moved. He said that he would “prefer not to discuss that at this time.”