MPs must stop toying with the people’s lives

Mar 26, 2014 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Once again, it is Budget time, but would it make any difference in the lives of the people? Will the people’s interest be represented in Parliament? The fundamental flaw of Guyana’s Parliament is that it is dominated by the minority PPP regime and not by the majority combined opposition.
This makes for virtual minority party rule, with no real representation of the people’s interest through their MPs, and no proper oversight of ministries and State enterprises. Our retarded Constitution allows for separation of powers of the executive, legislature and judicial branches but the recent ruling by the Chief Justice has stripped the opposition of powers to cut the budget. Parliament therefore does not have the capacity to act as a check on the Cabinet which, over the years, has run amock with the state resources, leaving a legacy of horrible waste, gross mismanagement, and massive corrupt practices.
In the face of such enormous inadequacies, the PPP viewed the recent recommendations of APNU on the Anti-money Laundering Bill as mere child’s play, cosmetics that do not empower the regime to protect the patrimony from present and future predators.
This is the useless tinkering produced by our politicians which the Speaker accepts after “deepest deliberations.” It is frightening to know that Guyana is in such hands. And while some citizens accept what the PPP has done; others say it is further curtailment of the already powerless Opposition and an erosion of the authority vested in Parliament by the Constitution.
With the new dispensation, questions abound in the face of a crying need for radical transformation of the Parliament which has never been a fierce guardian of the people’s interests, but a manipulative poodle that has reached the depths of shame. Let the truth be told; Guyana has a cumbersome and disorganized parliament that meets once a month not to represent the full interests of the masses but to have tea and dinner at the people’s expense. What a sham?
One thing is for sure, for over two years, MPs on both sides of the House have wasted Parliament and the people’s time. They have once again failed to represent and protect the interests of the people. Not one of them has come anywhere near developing or proposing a policy or even making recommendations to liberate Parliament from its yoke of the past.
Not one of them has proposed a Bill aimed at improving the lives of the poor and the working class. They lacked the guts to even contemplate meaningful change to Parliament that has been stymied by rules and regulations that are meaningless or perhaps retarded and outdated. In other words, Guyana’s Parliament is like a tiger without teeth. For example, the no confidence motion that was passed by Parliament against Mr. Rohee was meaningless because Mr. Rohee and the PPP have ignored the motion and no sanction has been brought against him.
Last year, the opposition made cuts to the budget but the Finance Minister still spends the money and again, no sanction has been taken against him. Furthermore, the Finance Minister came to Parliament and asked for more money to spend and he received it.
Radical changes are needed to correct the flaws in Parliament in the 21st century.  MPs should stop burdening the taxpayers and pay for their own meals like everyone else.  The rules governing Parliament must be strengthened whereby sanctions must be imposed on anyone who ignores them or refuses to abide by them.
Are there parameters for the questions that could be asked? What is the role of the Speaker in setting the boundaries and upholding the rules? When will the people of Guyana going to have a real Parliament with full powers to act like the British Parliament which we continue to imperfectly ape after nearly a half a century of Independence.
What about the various committees? Would the majority opposition continue to have both the chairmanship and the majority of members on committees, thus ending the PPP debilitating domination of Parliament during the past 20 years?
What are the mandates of the committees? Would they have the required authority and resources? Would the opposition MPs have offices, staff and research capability to make these bodies effective? Would these committees have power to summon public officials to a hearing? And, as has happened, could officials disregard such summons with impunity?
Could any minister refuse to answer questions of the committees without penalty? And if any official tells untruths would they be charged for perjury and jailed as happens in the US Congress, counterpart of Guyana’s Parliament?
And what would be the outcome of any hearings?  Could the committee recommend that criminal investigations be instituted against any minister or state enterprise chairman or CEO over whom there is abundant suspicion of corruption? Would any Government-chaired committee with majority members from the Government recommend a ministerial colleague or one of their appointees be investigated for corruption?
Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

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