Dear Editor,
When I sent you my letter on Friday night, I thought that the motion in Parliament to rescind the 14% VAT on Private Education, tabled for (today), had simply been postponed. Now it appears to be “off the agenda” because of a technicality. Is this correct?
How can we avoid seeing this as anything other than just another broken promise?
With the clear announcement of the scheduled debate for (today), we saw the major political parties begin to jockey for position. ?On an individual level, it appeared that MPs would be asked to somehow balance the promptings of their conscience, their memories of promises made when looking for votes a short time ago, their clear pronouncements to others in private against the promptings, guidance and perhaps “demands” of party “whips”.
If MPs are simply asked to look beyond their consciences and personal good judgment and ONLY vote along party lines, then what role does debate have, and what purpose does democracy hold?
Many persons on one side of the aisle will be saying, “Not another e-mail from him??” Or, “When is he going to get tired of all this?” Those very same persons would have welcomed such e-mails two years ago, if the similar e-mails had been directed to the other side of the aisle.
Again, I say I have no political agenda. For me and thousands of others, this is a fundamental issue that needs to be discussed, debated and resolved. If you feel it has been, why is it still such a contentious item in all of the non-aligned media? Does the democratic process not depend on such free, open and frank discussions?
In this spirit, may we invite three members from the pool of MPs who are in support of the 14 % VAT to a live televised debate on this subject at a time, date & TV station of your choosing? To date, the only person on one side of the aisle to respond to my letters has been the President.
This offer is not done in anger or hope of scoring political points; it is suggested as a way to put the issue to bed (at least for some of us).
Sincerely,
Dr Brian O’Toole
Director
Nations University
