FITUG calls for political maturity

No-confidence vote

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) issued a call for political maturity at a time when the nation is in uncharted waters following the historic no-confidence vote in the National Assembly on Friday last.
FITUG on Monday acknowledged that the notion of such a motion was not new and has long been a constitutional feature; however, it was the first time that such a motion has been successfully charted.
The Federation said it was heartened to learn that the Government has accepted the result of the vote and not too long from now national and regional elections will be held.
“We, at this time, look to the Guyana Elections Commission to fulfil its mandate and deliver an election that is free and fair and free of fear too. Our organisation, of course, will be following developments on this front. We also recognised the statements of Leader of the Opposition, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who has committed to dialogue with the Administration as our nation finds itself in uncharted waters. This, we believe, is a step in the right direction. We noted too that President David Granger has signalled his willingness to meet and we hope that such meeting could be soon convened, recognising the medical treatment the President is receiving at this time. We certainly hope those discussions will yield fruits in the interest of the Guyanese people,” FITUG said.
On Friday last, the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) successfully tabled a motion against the David Granger-led A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition Government. The PPP/C, which has 32 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly, was able to successfully sway AFC’s Charrandas Persaud, ultimately leading to the collapse of the Government.
Persaud, after his vote, said that he was pleased with his decision and noted that there were a lot of missteps by the Government that led him to supporting the motion. He cited the closure of the sugar estates among other things that led to his conscience vote as opposed to toeing the party line.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had first announced the no-confidence motion on the heels of devastating losses in the Local Government Elections (LGE) for the coalition Government and went ahead to file the motion with the National Assembly on November 15, 2018.
The PPP/C had contended that the motion was lodged based on concrete reasons upon which the Guyanese people had rejected the People’s National Congress (PNC)-led coalition. It pointed to the thousands of jobs that have been lost as a result of the closure of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) estates.
In addition, the Party referred to the various scandals that have erupted under the Administration. These include the single sourcing of the feasibility contract for the new Demerara River crossing, the single sourcing of a drug bond and the single sourcing of drug procurement contracts.
The Party further noted the numerous breaches of fiscal laws flagged by the Audit Office of Guyana in its reports, as well as the lack of accountability in the D’Urban Park Project, with the Auditor General having to launch a special probe into the development.
The depletion of Guyana’s gold and foreign reserves was also highlighted. In fact, a report from the central bank earlier this year had indicated that Guyana’s net foreign reserves, held by the Bank in foreign currency notes, have fallen to their lowest point since 2008.