Pres. Granger failed to deliver leadership required, allowed his ministers to ‘run wild’

Pres. Granger failed to deliver leadership required, allowed his ministers to ‘run wild’ – Ram

Dec 24, 2018 News

By Kiana Wilburg

The passage of the historic No-Confidence Motion against the APNU+AFC administration does not come as a surprise to many local analysts. On Saturday for example, Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr. David Hinds opined that the Motion’s success exposed the deteriorating relations within the coalition party. But Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram, who agrees implicitly with that point, took it a little further.
For him, it was President David Granger’s failure to deliver the leadership needed by the country and his Party which should be blamed.
Ram said, “The Head of State offered very little leadership and he allowed some of his ministers to run uncontrolled. He also failed to deliver on some of the commitments he made (such as fixing Campaign Financing Laws, ensuring Constitutional Reform and establishing an Investigative Commission on Corruption). And he swore to uphold the Constitution and I can’t say that he has an extremely positive track record in this regard…”
The Chartered Accountant stressed that at some point, Granger and the rest of the APNU+AFC leadership have to take responsibility.

Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram

He added, too, that whatever one might think of the Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, it is undeniable that the timing of his move for a No-Confidence Motion showed some political cunning if not genius.

SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE

Since former AFC Member, Charandass Persaud gave his support to the Opposition’s No-Confidence Motion on Friday; the debate has been unending about what his move means for coalition politics in Guyana, among other things.
Ram insists however that a vote of No-Confidence is part of the democratic process and the nation should be celebrating this.
He said, “We should be celebrating the fact that as a country, we are mature enough to have a government removed by a vote of no confidence and it has been accepted. Despite all the fears which have been expressed, I think that is a highly positive development.”
He added, “Now the nation will be looking to them (the government) to carry through their announcement of abiding by the decision of the National Assembly and holding elections in 90 days time. I think the fact that it has accepted the decision without demurring in any way is positive…”

ELECTIONS IN THREE MONTHS
On Saturday, President David Granger by way of a statement to the media said that his government will abide by the Constitution which requires elections in three months.
Article 106 (7) of the Constitution of Guyana states, “Notwithstanding its defeat, the Government shall remain in office and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the elections.”
The Head of State also made it clear that his government will embark on discussions with its coalition partners, the Alliance For Change (AFC) and those who are part of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
“We will do everything necessary to facilitate the smooth functioning of General and Regional Elections, bearing in mind the need for normal governmental functions to continue uninterrupted,” President Granger said.
The President said, too, that he is anxious to engage Opposition Leader, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, on any concerns he may have. He assured the Guyanese people “that this is not a crisis, which could dissolve into any type of confrontation.”
“Mr. Jagdeo contacted the Minister of State and a meeting will be arranged as early as possible so that his concerns can be addressed,” the Head of State added.
The President added, “This is a constitutional process, which can have favourable outcomes for the nation… There is no cause for alarm and there are no grounds for any form of disorder. We will continue to work to provide a good government and deliver public services to the people and to work even more closely with the opposition”.
President Granger disclosed, too, that he met with some Ministers yesterday morning. These will henceforth be engaging the AFC ministers, he added.