AFC demands withdrawal of Ramotar’s “act of terrorism” comment

Jul 21, 2013 News

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Seemingly, a tit for tat cold war has erupted between Government and the joint Opposition as two Bills presented by Government related to the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project were shot down in the National Assembly, on Thursday.
The tension in Guyana’s uncertain political landscape is visible with both sides being unrelenting in casting blame for the stalemate.
The Alliance For Change (AFC) has rejected a statement by President Donald Ramotar referring to the Opposition not approving the Bills as an “act of terrorism”. The Party wants the immediate withdrawal of this intemperate comment.
“The AFC hopes that in the future greater emphasis can be placed on developing greater levels of negotiation and compromise in the interest of all Guyana.”
“It is a dangerous statement and a threat to all law-abiding citizens.  It is grounded in shallow political rhetoric that is designed to terrorize the national elected Parliamentarians into submission. President Ramotar after all has suggested that the 33 elected opposition MPs are domestic terrorists and we call for condemnation of this,” the AFC said in a press statement yesterday.
On Thursday evening, the AFC and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) did not approve two Government Bills: raising the external debt ceiling from $1B to $150B, and Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill 2013.
The AFC was prepared to support the Hydro-Electric Power (Amendment) Bill 2013 because of the need to protect the environment. But, AFC is waiting on the Inter-American Development to complete a technical review of the Amaila Hydropower Plant Project before approving any laws relating to the project.
However, because Government was silent on the four Local Government Bills that would allow Local Government Elections this year AFC did not approve the two above mentioned Bills. The AFC said Government was using the Opposition as scapegoats.
It was reported in the Guyana Chronicle that President Ramotar “accuses Opposition of… political blackmail, terrorism – This is an ‘act of terrorism’ against the development of Guyana, Ramotar says in wake of Opposition’s attempt to bury the Amaila Falls project.”
According to the AFC, “Parliamentarians are elected to enable and give life to the Constitution and thus are protected by the rule of law in doing their work on the people’s behalf.  At no time are parliamentarians engaged in acts of terrorism in the chambers of the National Assembly.”
The party appealed to Ramotar to respect and embrace the founding principles of their God-given, unalienable fundamental rights to life, liberty and most importantly, the freedom of expression.
“Rather than use his bully pulpit at the Office of the President to thrash these core values of the Guyanese people with his wild claim that the opposition defeat of the Amaila issues is an “act of terrorism” against development in Guyana,” the AFC said.
The AFC said Ramotar’s comments do not respect the will of the Guyanese people. The party will remain prudent before supporting any public policy of the PPP/C Government, especially since the party has accumulated a reputation for manufacturing information, scandals and unfair practices as they continue to mislead the nation.
The release noted that the AFC would continue to ensure accountability for the public purse and to ensure that the public debt dynamics remain sustainable. “We in the AFC have stated publicly that we want a professional opinion from the IDB before we sign on to any increase in the debt ceiling and feel justified in taking this stance.”
According to the AFC, it is not interested in creating another Skeldon Sugar Factory, which is not churning out the expected amount of sugar as boasted by Government.
“We have a duty to the children of Guyana, who in time will be saddled with the responsibility of paying back any future debt.  Therefore we will only support projects that will maximize their contribution to economic growth and poverty reduction,” the AFC said.
The Party signaled its intention of closely monitoring the risks related to the contingent liability exposure associated with the Amaila Hydro Project to not compromise the medium-term debt management strategy.
“We recognize that only the IDB has the capacity to investigate and signal financial approval and we prefer to wait on this before moving forward on these issues,” the AFC said.
The AFC said that it is committed to motivating the PPP/C Government to taking Guyana towards a reduction in the primary fiscal deficit, as one of the many measures to help contain the public debt-to-GDP ratio towards a level of 60 percent or below.
“We in the AFC are not ready to go back to the un-creditworthy days of the PNC ever again and thus this runaway appetite of the PPP for new debt has to be interrogated and questioned.  That is why we ask the PPP/C Government to act more responsibly and await the due diligence report from the IDB.
“If the report is favourable from our perspective, we are prepared to support all the rational conditionalities associated with the Amaila Hydro project,” the AFC said.
The AFC believes that Ramotar’s statements are unjust and unfair and contains some dangerous characterization which compromises the independence of the Legislative Branch of the Government.

 

 

 

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