June 13, 2014
Responding to Rohee
Rohee’s absurd comments must be taken for what they are – absurdities. The Deputy Speakership only went to the Opposition because the Government never nominated any candidate on its behalf. The configuration of the various committees reflects the proportionality of the Opposition against the Government in the National Assembly. This was in consonance with the Constitution and the Standing Orders. And it must be remembered too that though the Attorney General tried to argue algebra before the Chief Justice, luckily the Court got the arithmetic right in that case in which the A.G. contended that the Opposition’s reconfiguring of the Committees was unconstitutional.
But the wholly ludicrous contention of Rohee is that the Opposition is not ceding anything to the minority Government. He should be reminded that the majority Opposition has taken nothing from the minority Government.
The Government still retains its Executive power, meaning all prerogative powers. It still retains its dominance of the Parliamentary agenda. Government’s business under the Standing Orders still takes precedence at every sitting excepting Private Members’ day which are few and far between. Control of spending and financial allocations are still matters remaining wholly in Government excepting when the majority Opposition exercises its constitutional power to not approve those line items it sees fit. And of course Government still controls the political and legislative agenda.
Moreover, the majority Opposition has never asked for anything which is outside its jurisdiction or legal realm. If anything at all the Opposition has asked for what the Constitution, our supreme law, has prescribed. The Public Procurement Commission is an example. Local Government Elections is another. It is the minority PPP Government which is not ceding to Guyanese that which belongs to them by an exhibition of unwarranted denial or utter deprivation. They are the ones who are violators of the Constitution.
Rohee and his ilk in the PPP fail to appreciate that a Government minority does not necessarily mean an Opposition majority. This is too complicated for him to understand. It is simply that they are so consumed with their control-freakism, their retrograde authoritarianism, which propels them to that unjust, unreasonable conclusion.
They do not want to respect the voters’ voices and choices of 2011. Rather than conduct Government’s business with an eye towards a greater happiness for all Guyanese, they conduct business purely with an eye to the next election where they hope to regain that lost majority. Well they are in for a surprise. If they don’t lose the plurality, their minority status will be worse than now. So they better start attuning themselves to a framework of multi-party governance from now.
There are benefits to be had under this dispensation, including more accountability, more inclusiveness, more reforms, more policy deals and concessions in the national interest. If only the Rohees and Ramotars in the PPP can be more visionary and statesmanlike, rather than griping and groaning as they have been. But then again coming from the belly of the beast, I think I can authoritatively pronounce that they were never liberal democrats. They are all illiberal autocrats.
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Home Affairs Minister ignorant of his responsibilities
The callous manner of Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee as he responded to questions posed by the media on the very serious issue of torture has not gone unnoticed. The Alliance For Change finds the Minister’s comments very off-hand and it is clear that for him, torture is a trivial matter.
While Rohee refuses to relinquish the seat of Minister of Home Affairs, he clearly does not understand its functions. As the holder of the office of Minister of Home Affairs, Rohee has oversight responsibility for, among other agencies, the Guyana Police Force. That responsibility does not begin and end with making flowery speeches and handing over a few items. To say he does not engage personally in torturing persons in custody and indicate that he has no responsibility to answer for what the police is alleged to have done, is crass, totally unbecoming of a Minister of an elected government and reeks of contempt for the citizenry.
There have been too many reports of police ranks torturing persons in their custody and of abusing the rights of citizens – male ranks abusing female citizens, ranks burning the hands of teenagers, baton-raping a young man, male rank flogging a female, ranks sexually abusing females in their custody and other heinous offences including, the proven case of burning the genitalia of a teenage boy.
Following the award of millions to the victim whose genitals were burnt while in police custody, it was expected that the Minister of Home Affairs would have implemented policies to ensure that an incident of similar nature does not reoccur, Instead, Rohee has taken a cavalier attitude and apparently has washed his hands of responsibility for the Guyana Police Force. If that is his position then he ought to resign. Clearly he does not understand that as the person with ministerial responsibility for the Guyana Police Force, whether the prevailing circumstances are good or bad, the ‘buck’ stops with him.
Rohee now has a choice, either shoulder the full responsibility of the Ministry of Home Affairs or, admit he is incompetent and resign.
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Time for Government to cut the chat
Despite all the rhetoric coming from the PPP-C Government on the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, It is now quite clear that they have no real interest in the passage of the Bill. The issue of the AML Bill is just an opportunity for the government to make appropriate noises designed to fool the Regional and International communities about their commitment to the fight against financial crimes. Their unwillingness to deal with corruption and to stem the flow of illicit money is evident in their refusal to yield to the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission and their sloth in implementing the provisions of the existing AML/CFT Act. In an economy awash with illicit money, there has only ever been one prosecution for offences under this Act.
The public needs to understand that the Procurement Commission is a provision in our Constitution (Article 212 W), reinforced by way of the Public Procurement Act, and is intended to ensure that citizens get value for their tax dollars. It was designed to lend confidence to the procurement process and limit opportunities for government officials to demand bribes and kick-backs from contractors/ suppliers. A functioning Public Procurement Commission would also reduce the fear of contractors/suppliers that they could be discriminated against if they do not support the government of the day.
One would have thought that these would have been good enough reasons for the government to hastily establish the Commission, especially as they were the ones who spearheaded the passage of legislation for its creation. However, they continue to make lame excuses while maintaining full control over a process that sees billions of tax payers’ dollars squandered each year.
International bodies estimate that some 20 per cent of the money for all contracts goes towards bribes and kick-backs for high placed public officials. This is public money, money that rightfully ought to go towards improving the quality of life of the Guyanese people and not into the hands of corrupt government officials.
If the PPPC government was serious about addressing money laundering, they would have made robust efforts to strengthen the Financial Intelligence Unit without having to be forced to do so by an external body. They would have established the Public Procurement Commission, ensured that there was a properly constituted Integrity Commission, taken steps to encourage the establishment of a DEA office in Guyana, ensured the extradition of drug lords to the US among other measures. It is clear that the PPPC government is only interested in noise making. It is time to cut the chat and start implementing.