UNPARALLEL BETRAYAL

Dec 02, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

It is no secret that the leader of the opposition and his parliamentarians are of the opinion that the future of the country is bleak under this government. They do not hide their mouths, and, as a result of that, they have decided that the best way to deal with the appointment of the Chairman of Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) is to use the primitive method of not to cooperate with the government.
The opposition leader publicly stated that he has no respect for President Granger. He also expressed the view that the country would continue to drift for another two and a half years because of inept policies, incompetence, scandals and corruption by the government.
For months, the PPP has been bombarding the people with a series of reports about the challenges and crisis facing the country and the declining public confidence of the government.
We certainly cannot fault the Opposition’s assessment of some of the country’s pressing problems that have contributed to the waning confidence in the current administration. Some of the mistakes and failures by the government have resulted from poor decisions, inexperience, unqualified and a Cabinet that has been criticized by people opposed to the government.
However, this is not to say that the opposition assessment of declining public confidence in the government is correct. Truth be told, neither the government nor the opposition holds any monopoly on public confidence.
The PPP continues to put more wood into the proverbial political fire by moving to the High Court to quash the appointment of James Patterson as the new chairman of GECOM. The opposition is of the view that the President’s unilateral appointment of the Chair of GECOM was done in bad faith.
It is clear that the intent of the PPP is to score political points. If it fails in the courts it will simply move on to another area of contention. A decision on this case including all the appeals way up to the Caribbean Court of Justice could take years. However, in reality and in all seriousness, does the PPP really have a leg to stand on with such accusations?
The opposition leader has floundered on many pertinent issues. As President, he violated the constitution by not appointing a Local Government Commission and several other commissions or hold local government elections. Lest we forget, it took Mr. Jagdeo forever to appoint an Ombudsman. It never caused a Public Service Appellate Tribunal and the Public Procurement Commission to be fashioned.
This brings us back to the issue of public confidence. With public confidence waning in both parties, it now seems that they are in a race to see who first gets to the bottom of the pole. The wider society, if indeed the public votes on issues, would not have forgotten the depth of corruption, the awarding of contracts to a select few, the giving away of the airwaves and Jagdeo’s parceling out of the country’s best lands to himself, relatives and friends.
Does anyone really think that this government is worse or is performing poorer than its predecessor?
Guyana is not unique when it comes to judging its governments. Each of the political parties has its large support base. The deciding votes often come from a few who are the intelligencia. These people examine the facts even as they seek out the government that would give them the most incentives, even if illegally. These are the businessmen and the local investors. These are the people who are uncomfortable with the tax regime. They are the people most heard and who influence the public opinion by public voicing their objections to the government measures.

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