Maybe even the basics of politics President Ramotar doesn’t understand

Apr 14, 2013 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Any schoolboy, if his advice is solicited by the joint opposition, would tell this nation that nothing will come out of the exigent dialogue the President will have with the AFC and APNU tomorrow morning on the budget. If President Ramotar does not understand the fundamental, really basic points of politics (that any student of politics can learn from Plato’s ‘The Republic’, written two thousand years ago), then there will be no agreement.
This columnist is predicting a collapse of the confabulation in the morning. First, President Ramotar made a statement that is not only strange, but weird. He said that Minister Irfaan Ali told him that today was out because Ministers are otherwise engaged. This is incomprehensible political behaviour by the President. He is telling this country that it was Irfaan Ali that had a say in why the talks couldn’t be held today. A more elegant approach was for Ramotar to simply say that his Ministers were not available over the weekend. In quoting Ali, he made himself look like he was not in charge (which many, many think he is not).
Secondly, when one considers that a national budget is one of the fulcrums on which modern nations stand, then what could have been so overriding that Ramotar could not have summoned his Cabinet for the weekend discussion with APNU and the AFC?
This columnist is openly cynical in writing that maybe the non-availability this weekend of some of the presidential underlings may have more to do with la dolce vita than matters of State.
After all, the contempt shown by the PPP Government from the Jagdeo presidency to the current ruler is not something that our little autocrats try to hide. I could well imagine, a Minister saying; “Ya’ll try deh, I ain’t leffing me weekend lime for no budget talks.”
President Ramotar is feigning ignorance of the existence of realpolitik which has been part of world politics hundreds of years before a German writer gave it that name and a German statesman put in on the 19th century map. Or is it that he is not prepared to sit down and agree to formulas of compromise and reconciliation?
Mr. Ramotar, in examining the agenda of the combined opposition which is to be discussed in the morning, announced that the requests of the opposition are not related to the actual contents of the budget. Surely, no ruler of a country could be this naïve.
Before I expand, I repeat a little hypothetical story when writing on the budget impasse last year at this time. If you can only get your fruits onto the main road using a waterway owned by your neighbour, then you have to concede your strategic weakness and offer him concessions. You can’t give in to his demand that he wants half the amount but if he is reasonable, then you have to dialogue with him.
Let me build on that reasoning. Suppose you sell your fruits for ten dollars to a supermarket, and your neighbour tells you that he now wants you to sell half of the amount to his brother’s supermarket for the same ten dollars. Realpolitik demands that you tell your traditional customer you have to cut down on the amount you will sell him in the future.
Mr. Ramotar does not like that the opposition demands the implementation of the Human Rights Commission; of a reconstituted Integrity Commission; Police Service Commission; Teaching Service Commission; Election Commission; the resuscitation of the Public Service Appellate Tribunal among others. Why Mr. Ramotar cannot exchange these for the opposition support of the budget makes absolutely no sense.
These Commissions are what every citizen would find useful in enhancing the distribution of justice in Guyana.
In none of the demands of the joint opposition is there any unreasonable request which when granted will leave the opposition with an expanded power base. The very opposition leaders will have their assets investigated if you have a professional Integrity Commission and they make false declarations. But more importantly, many of these applications on the opposition agenda are constitutional fixtures that must be recognized by the Government of Guyana.
There will be a breakdown for one fundamental reason. The PPP has its own epistemology. The party will never concede that its words and concepts can be challenged and the epistemology may be derived from false knowledge. As soon as the talks open in the morning, one of the powerful princes that has the same power as Ramotar will jump up and say we only want to talk about what is inside the budget. The opposition will then leave.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News