Détente and rapprochement or relentless hegemony

Dec 11, 2011 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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We are at the stalemate stage on the chessboard of politics. It constitutes a fascinating moment in politics since the early 20th century. The PPP won the presidency but the combined opposition has control of the Parliament. Ignorant people who don’t understand the lessons of history will continue to be ignorant.
The PPP acceded to a call from the PNC under Robert Corbin and passed recall legislation that prevents a Parliamentarian from voting with the other side. He/she can be recalled by their party. If that didn’t happen, the PPP could have stolen a few opposition parliamentarians in the new Parliament (to be convened shortly) and would have had a black cheque in Parliament to continue on its path of Jagdeoite hegemony.
Parliament is a powerful institution. It has to approve the national budget. The Speaker of the National Assembly has formidable powers. We didn’t know about the magnitude of Parliament’s jurisdiction all this time because the past 20 years, power came from the office of the presidency and Parliament was subsumed under the Executive. It is a different situation since November 28, 2011.
The President and the PPP should read about the headaches the US congress is giving President Obama whose party is in the minority.
The combined opposition has absolutely no room to manoeuvre. They made millions of strong, unshakable promises to their supporters (who put them in control of the House). These embracers will not only be unforgiving but will be extremely livid if some of those pledges are not honoured.
There is little room to negotiate with the PPP on a number of egregious directions the Jagdeo Parliament went into. The list is inexhaustible. The AFC and APNU sold their supporters the abolition or radical alteration of the Other Benefits and Facilities Act which entitles Mr. Jagdeo to colossal benefits after he demits office.
APNU and the AFC went to Linden and informed the people there that if they get into power, the NCN monopoly will be removed. They have parliamentary power to do so. Both broadcasting legislation and the Access to Information Bill were frowned upon by the combined opposition (and most people in Guyana) because they are nasty watered down versions of the real stuff.
There are a number of highly powerful bodies that Parliament has control of and which the people of Guyana expect the combined opposition to put into political, constitutional and moral shape.
These include the Service Commissions (Judicial, Teaching and Police). There is the ERC, the Ombudsman, the Auditor-General Office, the Guyana Revenue Authority, GECOM, the Public Service Appellate Tribunal, the Human Rights Commission, Procurement Commission etc.
It is suicidal for APNU and the AFC to sit in Parliament and pass the PPP’s national budget without the inflexible non-negotiable demand that Parliament must have its own budget and have no subordinate relation to the Executive.
Which opposition Parliamentarian will not be eager to see the reorganization of GECOM and the complete and meticulous separation of GECOM from the pocket of the Executive?
No matter how long the negotiations between the opposition and PPP leaders last, the AFC and APNU haven’t got even elbow room. The above named proposed changes have to go through. The people of Guyana want to see the reversal of these hegemonic levers that President Jagdeo imposed on the nation.
The question is how the PPP is going to react. There is intensive and extensive discussion in and out of Guyana about the two sides in Parliament working for a united Guyana with give and take being the order of the day.
It is not going to be easy for the PPP. The AFC and APNU promised Guyanese a new day, free from repressive legislation. Which Guyanese will accept a Bill in which the Minister determines who gets a broadcasting licence? Why should the President appoint the person who you have to apply to in order to get information? Why should judges’ pay be determined by ruling politicians?
The PPP doesn’t seem to have a choice. Ironically, the opposition has none either.
The AFC and APNU have to deliver on the sacred promises they made on their platforms. The PPP cannot be recalcitrant. It has to pursue détente and rapprochement. Unless it wants to continue with its hegemonic ways.
How it will do that remains a mystery. If it rejects the abolition of some obnoxious Bills the previous Parliament passed, there is bound to be serious confrontations. This will lead to a national crisis, because we will not have a national budget. The PPP can choose to return to the election campaign. But that road is fraught with danger.

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