AN ‘EMPTY BARRELS’ EXERCISE?

Aug 21, 2015 Editorial, Features / Columnists

The Constitution of Guyana, like most others, affords duly registered citizens an opportunity every five years to choose candidates to represent them in Parliament. In that august House, the role of the government is to make and pass laws, while the official function of the opposition is to oppose and check the actions of the government.
Therefore, the first order of consideration is whether the candidates possess the character and competence to serve the national interest – scrutinize debate and approve new laws – and be an effective Member of Parliament (MP). These constitute the key decisions to be made when national voting is conducted, and should not be taken lightly.
For the past four days, the 2015 budget debate has duly taken centre stage, but the rancorous behaviour of some of the Members has not been encouraging and to many, somewhat disrespectful. The barbs from both sides of the House have been particularly withering. One hopes that the business of the country will be genuinely and effectively dealt with when all is said and done.
After all, Parliament is the chamber where the public interest should be at the heart of decision-making – which must be conducted sensibly and fairly. It is considered an honourable chamber, and many of those who sit in that chamber want to be perceived as honourable, but the bitterness among MPs during this particular debate so far, has assured the citizenry that their affairs are not necessarily in honourable hands.
The tasks of Parliament are formidable and require a team of principled, qualified and responsible citizens at the helm to guide the ship of state. It is therefore insulting for constituents to just be exposed to the bombardment of insults and spurious accusations every time Parliament meets. The people need serious representation. The people need meaningful action.
The government, we suppose, is within its right to criticize the PPP for its poor performance, its deficiencies, incompetence, malfeasance, and refusal to deal condignly with corrupt practices. It is true that the opposition could, and in most cases should rebut the charges made against them by the government, and convince the people about its performance and stewardship.
For much needed balance, the PPP must clearly define its vision and indicate its plans for the country. It must also diagnose the problems and articulate feasible proposals for addressing them. But all the above, needs to be done in a civil manner.
When it was highlighted that the PPP had falsely claimed the present government had fired 2,000 CSOs in June, when in fact they were essentially terminated by the PPP in April, prior to the elections, the responses were gratuitously vitriolic. The issue was not dealt with coherently. Several PPP MPs admonished the Finance Minister for failing to make provisions in the budget for the huge trade deficit that is unsustainable, and a dwindling GDP. We could have learnt so much more from both sides if everyone’s ego hadn’t got the better of them.
The best was saved for the last. There was thunderous applause, heckling and insults as the Minister of Public Security rose to speak. He berated the PPP for misleading the nation on a number of issues. And as he outlined his plans to fight crime, he was mocked and booed by some opposition MPs who called for his resignation, after just three months, due to the unacceptably high rate of homicides. The Minister also taunted his opponents and reminded them that fighting crime is everyone’s responsibility – it cannot be left entirely to the government or law enforcement agencies. A fair enough fight, but once again the important messages got lost in the din.
It has been a most boisterous budget debate so far. Let’s hope it’s not an ‘empty barrels’ exercise.

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AN ‘EMPTY BARRELS’ EXERCISE?

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