The A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition, while campaigning for the 2015 General and Regional Elections, promised to deliver to Guyanese “clean and lean governance” with specific emphasis on promoting high levels of transparency, accountability and integrity once they won those elections.
From time to time, senior coalition partners were heard chastising the then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government for its arrogance, excessiveness and failure to listen as well as respond effectively to the needs of the populace.
They were heard demonising the Government in many respects and promising to never govern in their own interest, but rather in the interest of the populace, again with heavy emphasis being placed on ethics, morality and social conscience.
Now in Government with a slim majority, which is being contested currently at the level of the courts, the coalition seems to have thrown some of their core principles out of the window which would have undoubtedly set it apart from successive PPP Governments. Not only is the Government now justifying wrong doings, both clandestine and clear as day, but it appears to have developed a knack for shielding its Ministers from public scrutiny and accountability.
Only recently, the public learnt of desperate attempts by Senior Minister Volda Lawrence to defend the candidacy of a party comrade who has been not only accused but charged with child molestation on at least three occasions.
There were thunderous calls by social activists and other organisations for the Minister to apologise or resign after her comments on the matter were published.
President David Granger when questioned by the media on the issue said almost three weeks ago that he would be demanding an explanation from the Minister before making any decisions. We were satisfied at this point with his initial response.
Now we hear from the President that there would be no attempt to remove the Minister by him directly from her post and that the People’s National Congress will have to deliberate and deal with the matter. This is most unfortunate as there appears to be a passing of the baton from one person to another with no one willing to make the final call. This Minister had taken an oath to protect the nation’s children from child molesters and predators, she cannot be allowed to defend them and get away with it.
Also, the Councillor shockingly revealed that no one within the coalition demanded his resignation even though the group of parties had given this impression when they initially withdrew support.
That aside, Minister Trotman’s rebuke of an independent group in Bartica which challenged the coalition for control of their own community at the recent Local Government Elections (LGE) was distasteful and antidemocratic. The APNU/AFC does not own any part of this country and citizens have the right to govern their own communities, full stop. No one has called out the Minister on this assault on local democracy.
These are but two issues in which the coalition is demonstrating high levels of double standards and confusing the electorate.
They come on the heels of the Ministers justifying their entitlement to a significant salary increase and spike in perks as well as benefits; their decisions to unjustly dismiss thousands of young Guyanese professionals while personally attacking others because of their link to the PPP; the sole-sourcing of numerous contracts for various projects and goods as well as services from APNU/AFC financiers and supporters; the creation of jobs for the boys in almost every Government agency and Ministry without justifiable cause; the continued assault on parliamentary democracy by running not well-thought-out or prepared bills through Parliament without proper consultation and the continued interference in the operations of the State-owned media entities.
That aside, the Government has much to explain about its frequent travels abroad and its politicisation of the State bureaucracy with party hopefuls and diaspora rejects.
The truth is, integrity and good governance demand that the new Government, at least, clearly explain its intentions, modus operandi when certain concerns are raised by the populace. But the only recent response is one press conference per week, Ministers who refuse to speak to the media, and continued silence on the part of the Head of State about core matters that run deep to the core of the decisions being made every day by the Government appointed advisers, his Ministers and their political agents.
This is not the change nor integrity in politics much less good governance that was promised by the coalition.
