Latest update April 24th, 2026 12:40 AM
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Moving On
We are only in the middle of the first month of the year and already there is firm evidence, as we predicted right after the elections, that a ‘new breeze is blowing’ across our land. There were widespread fears the elections would have precipitated riots and violence. But as in 2006, there were practically none. There was the incident with the YCT protestors that were fired upon with rubber pellets by the police but from subsequent events involving the GPF, this unfortunate incident seemed more of a bookmark to an unfortunate chapter in our history.
In this historic Parliament, the opposition for the first time possessed a majority and voted in a Speaker from their ranks. We believe that they lost an opportunity to give life to their pre-elections promises to be more inclusive than their much criticised predecessor. The opposition insisted on and secured both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.
This allowed President Ramotar to point out, accurately, when the PPP/C had the majority during the previous nineteen years, it secured the Speaker as by tradition but always conceded the Deputy Speaker to the major opposition. It is our belief that much of the bonhomie in previous parliaments was the consequence of this ‘power sharing’. Our fear is that by monopolizing the powerful parliamentary office of the Speaker, the executive would have an unreasonable fear that the opposition might be contemplating a similar monopolization of the business of Parliament.
It is therefore of the highest imperative that signals are sent by the opposition that an olive branch is out as far as conducting the nation’s business. On the matter of contractual awards, the new administration has already made a most significant move to terminate the contract to Synergy Holdings to construct the access road to the projected Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Power location.
The opposition and some commend this move: when the executive blunders, it is up to the opposition to highlight this but the converse is also true. It is only in this fashion can we craft a new politics of inclusion in our country. The President has promised, most positively, that “every major contract will be up for constant review.”
The Budget appears to be shaping up as the subject of the next serious engagement between the government and the opposition. The site, we believe, should be our parliament. Mr. Granger has already signaled, however, that he expects “collaboration” with the government outside of parliament to craft the budget; a suggestion that the President has decisively rejected.
We have some doubts about Mr. Granger’s proposal. How would we ever know if the new administration is continuing on the path of a more equitable allocation of the nation’s resources if the opposition is involved with the budget’s preparation?
In view of the number of seats that the opposition controls in parliament, it would be foolhardy for the government to allocate resources in a discriminatory fashion. But we should leave that to be demonstrated – and if so be shot down – in the proper forum, in the public gaze.
Needing the opposition’s support to pass the budget, we cannot imagine that the PPP/C government would not seek to ensure that its spending plans are not completely at variance with the opposition’s proposals. But here again, let this unfold naturally.
Right after the elections, the president requested that the opposition submit the names of their “economic experts” who could interface with the budget team of the Finance Minister. It was very disappointing to learn from the president that this offer was never taken up. We do not understand how the offer could have in any way be subversive of the principle of inclusivity: in fact it substantively strengthened it.
This new breeze that we spoke about in our politics can only be sustained if all the forces get behind it. And here we should note that the breeze is too important for our survival to be left to the politicians. We expect that civil society will cajole and coax them along.
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