VICTORY FOR PENSIONERS!

Apr 22, 2012 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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The Alliance For Change (AFC) won a major victory when the Minority Government  agreed to give Old Age Pensioners $10,000 per monthly, and forced it to back off from the pittance it had offered by way of G$20 a day increase.
The AFC was determined to trim the budget, starting with the “fat cats” on million-dollar contracts and perks, to find money for the poor.  This sent the minority government into panic mode and, for the first time in Guyana’s parliamentary history, Ministers and Government MPs went on the picket-line in protest.
The government bureaucrats went on overdrive in their propaganda, and tried to malign the AFC, especially its Chairman, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan. They fooled some ordinary contract workers, telling the big lie that they would ALL lose their jobs; and used them as a barricade behind which some of the “fat cats” on super salaries and allowances were hiding.
The Minority Government shuddered at the possibility of a combined opposition using its parliamentary majority not only to trim the budget but reduce VAT, suspend increase in electricity tariff for Lindeners, set up immediately the Public Procurement Commission to prevent waste and corruption, etc. It therefore sought to divide the opposition.
It is in this context that the AFC is baffled that APNU has chosen this historic moment to go into bed with the PPP, and make what appears to be secret deals.
The APNU/PPP engagement is viewed with suspicion firstly, that the AFC was locked out from the “talks” and secondly, when it appeared that a “deal” was struck, the door was opened for AFC to legitimize the back-room arrangements.
We want to make it clear that AFC was not a party to the exercise of placing Parliament at the feet of the Executive, and working out deals with the President when all concessions ought to have been made on the floor of Parliament, in keeping with transparency.
Some leaders of APNU have expressed a concern that budgetary cuts could result in loss of jobs. But this was never what the AFC was about. We demanded that Government provide us with the salaries of the 25 highest paid in each department, including advisors who enjoy multi-million packages, and Government refused to do so. We also identified areas where no explanations were provided for billions of dollars in expenditure and decided on cuts if no satisfactory answers were given in Parliament.
The AFC also wanted to restore professionalism to the Public Service by allowing educated, trained and skilled Guyanese, especially the young, to openly enter the public service on the basis of their qualification and merit, and via back-door connections. We wanted to grow the labour sector in a disciplined way, and allow it access to trade union representation, collective bargaining, pensions and other retirement benefits.
Because of our clear and unequivocal position, at least one Minister has made a commitment to encourage recruitment through the formal procedure, in the future.
We want to make it very clear to you the people of Guyana that it was the AFC’s position during the budget debate, that the scissors be used in judicious cuts on the bloated government’s bureaucracy, on excursions abroad, extravaganza and billion-dollar projects not approved by a procurement commission.
Our goal was to secure jobs by bringing employees into the civil service where they would have union representation, thus preventing the government from using them as their tools, or firing them as they see fit. In other words, we want to put an end to PPP cronyism and nepotism.
Further, the intention of the AFC was to find the billions of dollars of tax payers’ money which the PPP Minority Government has allowed to be kept in so-called “company” accounts, like NICIL; or hidden away in slush funds in several inaccessible accounts. We want all moneys including those coming (initially $5 Billion) from the sale of Guyana’s share in GT&T, to be placed in the Consolidated Fund.
If we grow the national pie, there would be enough to go around, and to make life better for our workers, pensioners, and other marginalized and disadvantaged folks. No more should this Minority Government be allowed to say glibly that it cannot afford to pay more, or repeat like a parrot the old, broken, song, “the next five years” in which to expect better.
We welcome the increase in old age pension, but the struggle continues for a decent social assistance envelope, and for income tax to be cut incrementally, from this year, by just over 3%.
The APNU/PPP dealers know that the AFC will not dance in their party unless we can openly discuss these burning issues, including reduction of Jagdeo’s presidential pension plan (J/PPP).
As for the people of Linden, AFC applaud their struggle and say to them that we remain firm on our commitment to suspend the increase in electricity tariff whilst pressing for new jobs for the people in their rapidly depressed community, to restore their access to television service, remove the dust nuisance, etc.. But we will not get into their politics. It is up to Lindeners to decide whether or not APNU has turned its back on them.
It became clear that the PPP is afraid of the combined opposition. During the elections campaign it had generated fear among Indo-Guyanese that AFC was “in bed” with PNC. During the budget debate the PPP condemned AFC and praised APNU. That was the set-up for the back-room engagement. Simply put, we are witnessing the colonial politics of divide-and-rule in its worse permutation.
The AFC continues to stand on a ground of principle, not to surrender Parliament to the Executive, and to prosecute the fight with dignity. We welcome the support for the good cause from Mr. Lincoln Lewis, the leader of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, and we are encouraged by thousands who now proudly exclaim, “Stay on course AFC!”
In the next round, we expect that APNU will not disappoint the people on the issue of stopping waste of their moneys on propaganda machines like GINA and NCN. Even if we remain alone, we will not stand down in the fight against ‘pork-barrel’ projects, sweetheart deals  and abuse of freedom of speech and equal access to the state media, including Chronicle, which daily malign and assassinate the character of AFC leaders with apparent impunity and recklessness.
The AFC will not succumb to any pressure to compromise with the PPP or bargain away the rights of the poor, the working people and our industrious patriotic business class. We will continue to fight to cut some $3 billion of taxpayers’ money from exorbitantly priced projects that would not be of benefit to low income earners and are often done below standards. We will not deviate from our position, even though we may be the only Movement to take a principled stand.
A luta continua!

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