APNU/AFC says “bring it on” to no-confidence motion

The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government on Friday said it is ready to challenge the no-confidence motion that was filed against them by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
The statement was made at a joint press conference held at Congress Place, Sophia, Greater Georgetown.
Chairperson of APNU and Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence said the Government is not scared of the motion. Her sentiments were endorsed by the acting President and Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo.
“There will be no surrender,” he said, while explaining that the Speaker of the National Assembly will be required to rule on the admissibility of the motion at a time where budgetary talks will be in progress.
Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge also chimed in on the matter, noting that the no-confidence motion filed by the Opposition, “Is trying to take advantage of a

situation.”
The Government currently occupies 33 seats in Parliament while the Opposition has 32. For the no-confidence motion to be effective against the coalition party, one vote is required for the motion to pass.
The acting President has made it clear that the minority should not assume that it will be successful in this move, as the Members of Parliament will not “sell out”.
He further pointed out that although he is functioning as the President, he will be allowed to vote in Parliament as he was an elected parliamentarian and it remains his constitutional right.

Motion
The Opposition Leader on Thursday announced that the Party will file a no-confidence motion against the ruling Administration.
The former President listed several things to support this contention, including the loss of 30,000 jobs; the decimation of the sugar sector; massive increases in the cost of living; and the imposition of hardships on the Guyanese people, via Government policies, such as $60 billion in increased taxes per annum.
The hiding of the US$18 million signing bonus from ExxonMobil in a separate account, when the monies should have been transferred into the Consolidated Fund, was another example cited.
In August 2014, then AFC parliamentarian, Moses Nagamootoo, had filed a no-confidence motion against the PPP/Civic Government, led by then President Donald Ramotar. Parliament was then prorogued, and Guyana headed into snap elections.
Jagdeo explained that the APNU and AFC had proffered several reasons for their move to file a no-confidence motion against the then PPP/C Government. Among them were the restoration of monies cut from the budget for the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF), hinterland airports, the University of Guyana student loan programme, vouchers for public school students, and the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project.
Another reason was the non-transfer of monies to the Consolidated Fund, which was held, legally, by semi-autonomous agencies. A third claim was a procedural breach in the $4 billion transferred to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the allegation of corruption. “They have not proven any of these issues so far,” he said.
Jagdeo charged that the country is “drifting” because of a lack of vision of the APNU/AFC coalition Government. According to him, the no-confidence motion is intended to protect Guyanese and Guyana from the excessive borrowing, taxing and wasteful spending of the current Administration.
According to the Opposition Leader, the results of the 2018 LGEs sent a clear message to the coalition Government, relative to the dissatisfaction of Guyanese with the policies of the coalition Government.
He added that a no-confidence motion reinforces this message. “We will have a chance to say to them that their policies are wrong… they are damaging prospects for the future and the wellbeing of our people,” he said.