PPP blasts Gov’t for “non-disclosures”

Aug 02, 2015 News

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…but lauds latest decision on Berbice Bridge

By Desilon Daniels

As the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) settles itself into the position of the Government’s Opposition, the party has once more raised concerns over what it deems as non-disclosures by the new administration.
During a press conference held at its Freedom House headquarters on Thursday, Dr. Roger Luncheon spoke on behalf of the party. During one of his statements, Luncheon focused on the deliberate silence coming from the new government on a number of issues.
According to Luncheon, though questions abound on a number of matters the new government has not been forthcoming with answers. He said too that while information is provided on decisions made, these disclosures are not full ones.
“There is the feeling that specifically, disclosures that relate to the decisions that are made and that are being made, that these disclosures are being withheld, so indeed things are done and why they are done, how they are done, what’s the reason and objectives, those are often left to the vivid imagination of commentators and Guyanese in general,” Luncheon said.
He continued, “It has become increasingly evident that what is made available to Guyanese, whether through the media or other sources, is severely limited and there is a view that this information is purposefully being withheld that can indeed contribute to Guyanese having a better understanding of the intentions of the Granger [President David Granger] administration.”

Some of the areas of contention, he said, were the dissolutions of the controversial specialty hospital, the Berbice Regional Health Authority and structured interim management committees (IMCs). Luncheon also turned his attention to the proposed phase-out of the One Laptop for Per Family (OLPF) Project.
“What led to the decisions? What would happen or what is being done with all of the obligations that led to the execution up to the time that the project was dissolved or terminated? These are important questions to help one understand the basis for the decision being made and importantly how we’re dealing with the consequences,” Luncheon said.
He further said that full disclosures would indicate how feasible or well-thought-out the decisions made were.
Speaking specifically on the Berbice Regional Health Authority, Luncheon said, “In essence they failed to disclose, in any reasonable way to the residents of Region Six, why a Regional Health Authority that has been around for more than a decade is being disbanded.”
Similarly, with the OLPF, Luncheon said that the public still remains in the dark on a number of areas. In recent days, the OLPF has been coming under serious fire from the new government and will be terminated shortly.
“So what would Luncheon’s family with a malfunctioning device turn to with no OLPF? These questions again have gone unanswered,” he said.
Luncheon said too that while decisions are being made, they are executed without consultations with the people.
He further said that the raised issues are just a microcosm for wider non-disclosures on the part of the government being witnessed. However, while the issues are clearly present, no one seems to be asking relevant questions, Luncheon said. He said the media in particular have not been asking the necessary questions. He added, “Maybe that’s the reason for what would be the administration’s likely response with a lack of disclosure.”
Additionally, he said that the PPP would continue to raise the issue of non-disclosures due to fear that if the silence persists, the issue would not only continue but worsen.
“I am perplexed, I must admit, about the virtual silence about an otherwise discerning media and press. Why are these things happening? There frequently would have been a response in times past but now virtual silence greets these uncomfortable and potentially dangerous developments by the Granger administration.”
 “SANITY HAS PREVAILED”
But even while blasting the Government for its “non-disclosures”, Luncheon went on to commend the “Granger-led” administration for its decision to engage in consultations with investors of the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI).
Recently, this latest decision was translated by Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman. According to Trotman, the promise of a reduction in tolls had been an “election campaign pledge” for the coalition. However, he said, the new government needed a better understanding of the actual structure of the BBCI and its toll-setting mechanism before any decision can be made.
“I think the real headlines ought to be saying, ‘We’re ready to commence negotiations with the company’,” Luncheon said. He went on, “He [Trotman] did admit this and I think that’s commendable. I think out there that in the height of elections campaign it might have been presented not as negotiating with a private company, but that the APNU+AFC coalition, if they got into power, the day after they would automatically reduce the toll.”
Opining that “sanity seems to have prevailed”, Luncheon further said that it was translated that negotiations have already started.
“The Minister realizes that if you’re going to take away the tolls, you have to compensate. It’s a legal position,” he said. He said too that the discussions will ultimately boil down to taxpayers paying subsidies to “allow the tolls to be lowered for a segment of the Guyanese population”.

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