Long day’s journey into Jagdeo’s nightmares

Jan 12, 2012 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Parliament comes into session today. What we expect isn’t going to happen this afternoon. All we may get is what we anticipate – a Speaker from the opposition benches. On the resumption, maybe later this week or this month, we will see the real McCoy. It isn’t going to be pleasant for the nation. While Parliament is in session, there are going to be intense confabulations on the budget
The Budget’s legal deadline is April. But do you think that while the tripartite negotiations are heating up, Parliament will be in recess? The answer is a reverberating no. If Parliament continues from today or whenever it is reconvened, APNU and AFC do not have any latitude to manoeuvre. They have to roll back the Jagdeo years. They have to exorcise the nightmares that the former President left in this land.
Will the new PPP/C Government concede and compromise? The indications so far aren’t encouraging. First, there is not one appointment within the arena of state power by President Ramotar that can instill optimism in the opposition camps… much more among the Guyanese people. Navin Chandarpal returned to Office of the President. Why should that excite the nation? He has gone back to serve a government that he is intensely loyal to.
President Ramotar met with Yesu Persaud who was scorned by Mr. Jagdeo. We don’t know what transpired between the two. It means that there can be no analysis applied. The same goes for the private meeting he had with Christopher Ram. We cannot judge President Ramotar on what he told Ram because we don’t know what they spoke about.
At the time of writing this column (Wednesday midday), this writer has learnt that CARICOM’s effort to break the impasse between the IMC, the Guyana Cricket Board and the Government of Guyana is proving difficult because the Ministry of Sports is insisting that it will not accept the return to cricket administration by the GCB.
One suggestion, a source told this writer, as proposed by the W.I. Board, is that the IMC and the GCB work together and the IMC will advise the GCB. The advisory status of the IMC was rejected by the Sports Ministry. This columnist has learnt also that the GCB met yesterday afternoon with Opposition Leader David Granger.
Thirdly, there was the over-emotional defence of Irfaan Ali by the Office of the President that makes one feel that the new administration at New Garden Street may do just what its predecessor did – defend and protect rather than investigate. What all of this means is that a resurgent opposition in control of Parliament may meet with a confrontationist attitude by the PPP Government.
Translated into real action, the Government may oppose Parliament’s energies in decapitating Jagdeo’s poltergeists that are running all over Guyana.
Some of the big fights will revolve around the following desires of the opposition. Parliament must implement the Sir Michael Davies report which will legally make the Legislature far more independent of the Executive. The Budget will have to accommodate more money for Parliament to function effectively. Parliament will then possess the resources to conduct inquiries and investigations into the actions of Jagdeo’s Frankensteins.
There must be local government elections in 2012 that will see legal power devolving from centre to periphery with periphery having acquired the dignity of its own fund-raising power.
There must be a comprehensive ballooning system that science uses to bring up ship wrecks from the ocean floor to the surface. This balloon system will lift GECOM from off the floor of the offices of the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the President. GECOM will have its own budget to conduct the local government poll in 2012.
There will be a grand scaling down of President Jagdeo’s pension package. There will be massive trimming to the basket of goodies Mr. Jagdeo can take home in Pradoville 2.
In fact, the opposition may be under intense pressure from their constituencies to probe how Pradoville 2 really got started and if any laws were broken.
Last but certainly not least, there are the three treason accused. This columnist has been told that both APNU and AFC intend to discuss with the corridors of power the status of the treason charges.
It will indeed be a long and onerous journey for the AFC and APNU in Parliament beginning today. How it plays out is not something that this writer feels we should guess about. My take is that we will see a colossal fight between the presidency and the Parliament.

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Long day’s journey into Jagdeo’s nightmares

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