That no confidence motion debate

Nov 24, 2018 Editorial

The opposition People’s Progressive Party has tabled a no confidence motion against the government. This is not really surprising given that Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has been sniping at the government ever since it assumed office.
The sniping began almost as soon as the 2015 election results were declared. For starters, the People’s Progressive Party contended that the elections were rigged. It moved to the courts to prove its point. This matter by way of an elections petition is still to be heard.
The PPP then began sniping at the economic performance of the government. Scarcely a day went by without the opposition finding something to be critical about. Even when answers were offered, as was the case of the Auditor General reports, the opposition chose to rely on the incomplete information provided by the Auditor General.
One issue that attracted multiple criticisms for the government was the contract signed by the government with ExxonMobil. The fact that the contract was released was historical. The opposition when it held the seat of government, treated every contract as a private matter. The country was kept in the dark.
Each contract was governed by what the then government called confidentiality clauses.
The supposed flaws were detected in the contract and the brouhaha became strident. As could be expected the opposition was largely silent, choosing to use its vocal supporters to attack the contract. These attacks continued even when issues were clarified. It mattered not that in many countries the contracts were never released.
More recently, the opposition began to snipe at the foreign reserves in the central bank. The criticism was that the then government left a lot of money. The reality was that sugar was on the decline; rice was not the foreign exchange earner it was touted to be; and oil prices began a steady rise.
Bauxite had long since ceased to be a major foreign exchange earner but there was gold, the mainstay of the economy for almost a decade.
These are some of the issues that would come to the fore during the no confidence motion when it is debated. And it will be debated.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo knows that he does not have the number of seats to defeat the motion. However, in a clever move, he tabled the motion when Leader of the House, Moses Nagamootoo, was performing the duties of president.
Had the motion been debated, and had all the other members been present, there would have been a deadlock. This is no longer the case.
But at a recent press conference, Jagdeo said that it would be a win-win situation. He said that he would be provided with a platform to record all his criticisms. The multiple press conferences would be nothing compared to what the parliamentary debate would afford.
To cloak the drive for publicity, the Opposition Leader said that he is likely to get two members of the government side to vote with him. He knows that this is not a possibility.
Whatever the case, the public would be exposed to the charges of incompetence. They would also be provided with answers to every criticism.
The media would play an important role in disseminating the information. As is the case of every aspect of the society, the media is polarized. One section would promote the charges made by the opposition, another would highlight the government’s position.
Then there would be those that would attempt to be as impartial as the owners would allow them to be. The debate would be interesting.

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