The Opposition must step up

Oct 27, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – The major opposition political parties in this country must make up their minds. This means that, of necessity, we must limit ourselves to the PNC and AFC groups in the APNU+AFC Coalition.

All citizens, supporters, those standing against, and those sitting on the fence, must have a strong awareness of what both political groups are about, and where they really stand on some of the more crucial issues in this country. All of this pussyfooting and going around in circles, back-peddaling, and dilly-dallying, must be a thing of the past.

Time is of the essence, and with this country poised on a different threshold, the opposition parties and those who lead them must be as straight as arrows, as to what they are for, and what they are against. Enough of this nonsense, this back and forth, which does not manifest the proper degree of regard for country or citizens.

The AFC has to decide where it stands on Local Government Elections. Be done with this hemming and hawing, which makes everybody look indecisive, out of their depth, and many steps closer to fools. No amount of skillfully employed and well-practised words intended to massage damage done are enough to undo the disappointment, maybe even disgust in some quarters, on how matters have unfolded.

Both the PNC and AFC must closeout where they are, if they will participate, and how completely, in electoral reform engagements. They are either in or they are out, and this must be made known. We appreciate that there are other smaller groups in the APNU+AFC Coalition, but all Guyana knows by now that as the two go, so do the rest of the other groups inside the tent.

Regarding their own internal relationship and dynamics, the AFC must come out from the shadows and lay out in the most persuasive manner that it is still in partnership with the PNC or that it is not. Meaning that it has fully and finally separated itself from the coalition umbrella, or that it is in the fold for the long run. Because there is nothing that is ever final in politics, especially Guyana’s mud and muck politics, we put that out guardedly. If the opposition parties can only bicker among themselves, and angle towards ulterior ends, then of what use are they to voters? And if one or the other is so torn about where they are (being in the company of each other), then how can either register a proper political presence before the PPPC Government and its excesses?

More than at any other time in our history, Guyanese need to seize the godsend opportunities resting in their laps to lift their fortunes. Oil is king and it can be a cruel master, with the weak kicked aside, and the stronger sweeping the lesser out of their way. The Opposition must speak with one compelling voice on where it is with this oil contract, and what Guyanese should get from it. It helps that the AFC has made clear where it is with renegotiation and, semantics aside, there is some comfort that the larger opposition has signaled some movement about being for changing the monstrous contract. Still, it is our position that stronger language could go a long way in bringing around those Guyanese who are presently lukewarm or limp about renegotiation. To restate from before: oil is Guyana’s reigning majesty, and it doesn’t care who is stepped on, with the gullible and vulnerable being the first casualties of its oftentimes noxious breath.

Considering where this country is currently, with broad consideration attached to the many challenges before it, it is only reasonable that Guyanese get the best out of their political representatives, groups, and government. As we see it, the Opposition is an essential aspect of governance arrangements. When it fails (it has), or comes up as being ineffectual repeatedly, then what follows is not the best in governance. Rather, it is what is unchecked and largely untroubled. Citizens are left to endure whatever comes their way. What is now undeniable is that without a meaningful opposition, and a rampaging PPPC Government left to its tricks, this oil may not have much meaning for Guyanese at all.

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The Opposition must step up

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