Independent and Strong: The AFC remains true to its core values

Mar 12, 2017 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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In recent months there has been some public discourse on the performance of the Alliance For Change as a key partner in the Coalition Government. While the genesis of this discourse is very likely the PPP’s propaganda and misinformation machinery, this focus on the AFC is evidence of widespread public attention and support. It also shows us that the general public has high expectations of us which has not diminished.
There has been some concern that the AFC, because of its comparatively smaller size (in number), is being subsumed by our larger Coalition partner, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). While understandable, this concern could not be farther from the truth. It is not based on fact or reality.
So let’s deal with this issue frontally. It could be argued, credibly too, that the AFC has been the leading light in Government, and that our Ministers have been performing at a visibly consistent high level. The eight (8) AFC Ministers directly manage a considerable amount of the national budget and beyond question have been managing their respective sectors most creditably, including Public Infrastructure, Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs and Telecommunications.
It could also be reasonably argued that the AFC has hesitated to state its positions on several public issues, which we would have done as members of the Opposition before May 2015. The reasons for this stand are many, but we encourage you to make a comparison between the young, rambunctious AFC of 2011 with the more mature version that carries weighty responsibilities. You will find that our ears and hearts have not left the ground. We are fully aware of the discomforts of our citizens, the matters that disappoint you, the events that result in your anger, and even those times when you are convinced that the AFC, as in local parlance, “does not have your back”.
We are aware of your impatience to see justice done and for the government to recover stolen assets; you want speedy resolutions to the damning scandals involving members of the opposition, e.g. the Pradoville 2, NICIL, balance payment for GTT shares sale, and the East Bank and East Coast Demerara land distribution skullduggery.
The AFC, just like you, wants to see a quick end to these scandalous acts that have robbed the treasury of a huge chunk of money. The wheels of justice turn very slowly and the processes, including new legislation, take a long time. This past week we saw some movement in the right direction. It is going to be a long process that will take more time and a lot more investigation. We are sure that you would agree that the charges must stick so that none of the guilty is able to slither out.
We have begun to achieve some of the objectives that we set more than two years ago. In several cases we have gone past the first stages of making the conditions right, e.g. addressing the concerns of the hundreds of small scale gold and diamond miners. This too is a process that will get better as we go along.
Equally, it was through the consistent disapproval of the AFC via our member Sherod Duncan as Deputy Mayor which has led to the citizens’ revolt against the Parking Meters. We remain opposed to the scheme as it is configured. Former AFC Leader, Minister Khemraj Ramjattan is on public record (August 2016) announcing that Mr. Duncan has been speaking for the party and that he enjoys our full confidence and backing. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has also come out opposed to the Parking scheme.
This has not been the only issue on which the AFC has demonstrated independence. While our leaders have been careful to act responsibly and have avoided rushing to the press, there has been very robust representation and objections to several issues internally, but in keeping with the accepted norms of public behaviour, we will always act in a civil and responsible manner.
The AFC is a vital part of government; our members are working diligently in Cabinet alongside our Coalition partners to effect the positive changes that we promised. This remains our first priority. This approach changes sometimes so that we could stay in step with global changes, Caribbean events, and even changing circumstances in Guyana. However, in no way have the goals, principles and core values of the AFC been eroded, changed, diminished or subjugated!
Far from being subsumed, the AFC stays at the forefront of every effort to transform our national economy and the political landscape into a progressive, modern ensemble which can compare favourably to any CARICOM sister state.
At Cabinet, our Ministers have been working well alongside their APNU counterparts on this objective which has turned out to be much bigger than we could have seen from the opposition benches. Nevertheless, we are intent on changing Guyana’s international image, and changing the previous narco-based economy which was inherited in 2015. We are on the way to creating a stable, robust and credible economy in which local and foreign investors would be truly confident.
Any objective analysis of the AFC’s performance and status in government will conclude that the party has retained its independence and that we steadfastly represent the interests of Guyanese people in a responsible and judicious manner.
The party remains strong, credible, independent and progressive. The AFC is here to stay and we will remain true to our raison d’être , i.e. to represent in the strongest ways, our Guyanese people from Waini to Windsor Forest, from Parika to Paramakatoi, from Lethem to Liliendaal, and from Mabaruma to Moraikobai, Skeldon to Supenaam.

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