Latest update November 18th, 2024 1:00 AM
Sep 28, 2022 News
…says Coalition ready to work with Govt.
Kaieteur News – Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton has made it clear that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU + AFC) Coalition is ready to work with the incumbent People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government for the development of the country.
The Leader was at the time responding to a question while appearing on a Canadian radio programme when he explained his position on partnering with the Irfaan Ali administration. He told ‘Shabnam Radio’ that for the Opposition to meet with the PPP it must be in the context of good governance. Norton also said, “You can become involved in engaging a Government but there has to be political maturity and an understanding of the issues you have to deal with.”
To this end, he made it clear that he would not engage the party unless clear parameters have been identified prior to the meeting. For one, he explained that the Opposition and Government should particularly meet to discuss “a clear vision for Guyana”. Secondly, he believes the two groups should consider a plan to achieve this vision in which “we must agree on the things that all of us want to see.”
In this regard, Norton explained that he does not agree with one political party making a decision on a project that exceeds a certain value. According to him, “I do not believe in Guyana that projects over a certain amount of money, the decision should be made only by the incumbent Government and on obtaining Government one of the things I will do, and I’ve said this publicly, is for us to sit and decide the major projects should have some amount of consensus so that when the Government changes you can continue.”
In making his case, the leader noted that failure to consult on large-scale projects can likely end similar to that of the Amaila Falls hydropower project. This venture was first conceived by the PPP but when the former Coalition took office in 2015, it was abandoned as the party believed there were not enough studies to prove its viability. Similarly, Norton told the radio host that presently, the Government is pursuing a Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project again in the absence of proper feasibility studies and thorough discussions. He said “it’s likely to end up the same way Amaila Falls end up (and) I hope not.”
Norton went on to share with the host that the Opposition has been using Parliament as a means of forging discussions on major issues such as insurance or full liability coverage for oil spills, however discussions should not just be limited to this forum.
Moreover he said that the Parliament has not been responsive to the concerns of the Opposition, as it has clearly stated in the past “you will have your say and we will have our way.”
As such, Norton pointed out “if a Parliament isn’t responsive to the Opposition concerns then it is really not a Parliament in the true sense of a democratic institution and that is where the problem lies.”
Over the past few weeks, stakeholders have been calling on Government and Opposition to work together, specifically to help propel the country.
Trinidadian Energy Strategist, Anthony Paul during an appearance on Kaieteur Radio’s “Guyana’s Oil and You” said if the policy leaders on both sides of the divide are busy fighting each other then the real issues as regard getting more value for the country and protecting it from abuses, are left on the back burner. He said companies love nothing more than to see politicians more concerned with fighting amongst themselves as opposed to working as one to defend its people.
APNU+AFC Parliamentarian and Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amanza Walton-Desir also holds the view that getting the most value from the extractive sector is an exercise that must trump all differences between Government and the political Opposition.
Only Tuesday, this newspaper reported the views of civil society activist and accountant Nigel Hinds who expressed the view that the country’s two main political parties are too caught up in their ways rather than coming together for the benefit of the nation. He said it was time that they band together and demand to renegotiate the oppressive Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that Guyana currently has with the ExxonMobil consortium operating in the offshore Stabroek Block.
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