Guyana’s development will not be held hostage – Ali after Norton a no-show

Criticising what he considers to be an act of unwillingness and immaturity, President Dr Irfaan Ali has made it clear that the country’s development will not be held hostage by political objectives.

He made the remark after the Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton, was a no-show for the second round of consultations with the Guyanese Head of State.
Following their meeting on May 13, President Dr Irfaan Ali and Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton had agreed to meet again within a week to continue consultations on several constitutional appointments.
However, due to several pressing matters, that second meeting was not scheduled within a week. These matters included the massive inaugural Agri Forum and Expo which attracted hundreds of delegates from across the globe including Caricom Heads of Government. This was closely followed by the regional and national Independence Day celebrations.
On May 27, 2022, Governance Minister Gail Teixeira wrote the Opposition Leader explaining the circumstances and invited him for a second meeting at 14:00h on May 30, 2022.

However, when President Ali and his team showed up for the meeting, the Opposition Leader never showed.
Addressing the matter in a live broadcast thereafter, President Ali shared, “The Leader of the Opposition has absented himself from this meeting. We have received no verbal or oral communication from the Leader of the Opposition or his office…We made it very clear to him that in the event that he may not attend, he can share his thoughts with us in writing. In addition to his absence to this meeting. We have not received any communication from the Leader of the Opposition.”

In this regard, President Ali made it clear that he will not let the country’s development be held hostage, as Government will pursue its plans for Guyana regardless of the Opposition’s support.
“I am pursuing One Guyana. It is clear to me that those aspirations of mine may not be shared by Mr Norton because he did not have the dignity, the professionalism to even respond orally or in writing to an invitation by the Office of the President. If this is the approach of the Leader of the Opposition, I have no problems with that. My approach is to move this country forward. Our approach as a Government is to take this country forward in keeping with the constitutional requirements and we will not have those requirements held up or held hostage by political objectives.”
Accompanying the President was Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall who added, “I think we have complied with the Constitution and the narrative outlined by rule is quite elaborate. It set out the facts as unfolded…We have extended every convenient opportunity and we have satisfied the spirit of meaningful consultations as provided for and contemplated by the Constitution.”
Meanwhile, in a correspondence dated May 30 that was released to the media, the Leader of the Opposition wrote Minister Teixeira saying that he is unavailable to meet due to his prior commitments and press schedule.
Norton has argued that it was unacceptable that the second meeting was not scheduled within the week as was initially agreed during the first meeting of May 13.
“The aforesaid time having expired without the resumption of in-person consultations and without prior communication is testimony to your Government’s disregard for agreements it signs and a manifestation of bad faith,” Norton contended in his missive.
He also stated that he did not attend the meeting on Monday since he believes that the notice was too short and more so, he had other pressing issues.
This meeting was expected to address among other constitutional matters, the appointments for key positions as governed by law. Among the appointments to be discussed were those for the Police Service Commission, Public Service Commission, Teaching Service Commission, Judicial Service Commission, and the Integrity Commission. The appointments of a Chancellor and Chief Justice are also pending.