The Chief Justice ruling: The story of opposition betrayal

Jul 21, 2012 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

This column here is not a commentary on the preliminary statements of the Chief Justice ruling into the budget cuts. One area that is clear among the Chief Justice pronouncements is that the Ministry of Finance could restore funds to the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC). It is in that ruling that the people of Guyana will see and know if this country has a credible or a stupid Opposition that does not deserve to represent the Guyanese people.
If the Guyana Government did not challenge the budget curtailments, then we would never have had the judgement on the ERC. What the ruling party and government have done since the results of the November 2011 General Elections is to take the fight to the Opposition and they have done that relentlessly. In the case of the ERC, they have won. At least the PPP has a post-election victory in the form of the continuation of the life of the ERC. You can add a second one – the appointment of Mrs. Ashni Singh which was given parliamentary approval.
Let the Opposition show us a single victory they have chalked up since November last year.
Are the budget cuts a success? Where? NCN and GINA are very much alive. Now the ERC will be back on track. Where are the Opposition’s moments of glory? In a column after the election when the Government asked the courts to rule on the numbers for the parliamentary committees, I argued that the PPP was doing what is logical – it is fighting the government. The Guyanese people must not delude themselves into thinking the PPP has stopped.
The Government went to court twice. On the committees issue it lost but it has appealed. On the budget cuts, we await further comments from the Chief Justice but what is factual if that ruling is based on the Chef Justice ruling, the ERC can be back in operation tomorrow.
Something may be logical yet be wrong. The PPP is doing what is politically logical – it is confronting the Opposition, so far on the political front (protestors were brought onto the streets to denounce the budget cuts) and in the courts. It is on the legal level that the PPP is winning the battle and the war.
This columnist can cite more than forty areas of policy-making that the Opposition, before last November’s election and after, where it could have fought the government. And even if it didn’t win twenty of those cases, it could have won at least ten.
We will not go back before November last year. We can start with 2012. Is the imposition of IMCs on the local government systems in some geographical areas legal? Why not test it in court. Why not do what Anil Nandlall does – fight your enemy in the courts? Why up to now, is there no court case by the Opposition on NICIL? When asked why this is so, this writer was told that if the Opposition takes it to court then Parliament cannot discuss it. But is there a legal basis for that decision? Why not go to court on NICIL then test the water and see if the law prevents Parliament from discussing it?
Again, I urge the Opposition to do what Anil Nandlall is doing.
Has there been any court matter in which the Opposition is asking the court to look at the legal basis for the continuation of the life of the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting? Is the UG Council acting within the statutes of the University? Has APNU tried to test that in court seeing that Mr. Granger was the clear winner in terms of support at UG during the election campaign?
Is it not a constitutional violation to prevent one type of mini-bus operator from crossing the Berbice Bridge but another set can do so? Have the AFC and APNU gone to court on the issue, especially the AFC which won handsomely in Berbice?
At the time of writing, the AFC and APNU are preparing next week for internal elections for leadership roles in their respective parties. Political decency and commitment must be the standard bearers. If you want to lead an Opposition party, then you must be prepared to fight for the citizens who have reposed faith in you.
Anil Nandlall and his Government are engaged in running political battles with the Opposition. The voters who put the Opposition in Parliament expect them to do the same. One must ask the leaders in APNU and the AFC if they are going to emulate Anil Nandlall and keep the government busy in court. They ought to!

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