The pop artist Andy Warhol famously claimed that “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Well, your Eyewitness doesn’t know about WORLD-famous; but, in the Budget Debate that kicked off in fine style last Friday, all our politicians elected to Parliament are gonna get their 15 minutes to be famous in Guyana!! There were 13 speakers on Friday, which was a heck better than the ONE speaker – the Finance Minister – who read out the Budget on the previous Friday and put so many of his colleagues to sleep!! And perchance to dream??!!
Now, usually, these debates follow a fixed script – the Government MPs praise the Government’s spending on aspects for which they’re given responsibility, but take as much time to knock the Opposition’s performance when they were in office!! And vice-versa. A Housing Minister, Rodrigues, set the tone when she kicked off her presentation by describing the Budget as taking care of Guyanese “from cradle to grave”. She showed she wasn’t just speaking figuratively, but with their $100,000 for every baby born this year – literally!!
For her brickbat to the Opposition, she declaimed: “From the time the APNU/AFC started, they put VAT on medical supplies. Under their leadership, it became more expensive to access medical care in this country. Putting VAT on supplies and medication! From the time the children start school, they will receive the Because We Care grant. They will go to school and get text books. They will get meals at their schools. All of that provided by our government’s policies”!! Awww!!
From the Opposition side, AFC MP Fernandez was scathing about the PPP’s programme: “To work in 2025, Mr Speaker, with the largest GDP per capita, the PPPC’s bright idea of job creation is for its citizens to wash hotel sheets or mop hotel floors. And further, Mr Speaker, their idea of job creation is for our citizens to work in a country and work in hotels that they cannot afford to stay in. This is the reality of the PPP Administration.”
Ouch!! She was referring, of course, to the PPP trumpeting the hotels being built, and echoing Burnham’s retort that he wouldn’t push tourism to “create a nation of waiters.”
However, Rodrigues, who spoke after her, retorted: “I come from a working-class family. A grandmother who scrubbed floors and cleaned people’s houses for a living. A grandmother who worked in the kitchens…and I listened to my colleague on the other side of the house disparage those who work in honest jobs. Every job has dignity. This is the mindset I want people listening at home to see. This is the mindset of the people who make up the members of the Opposition.”
And that’s what live political debates are all about!!
…from Opposition
But what garnered the most attention on Day 1 was the presentation of PNC MP Chandan-Edmond. She didn’t follow the usual script when she declared: “No budget is perfect, Mr Speaker, and this one is no exception. It is our duty as legislators not to settle for good-enough, but to demand more: More equity, more inclusion, and more action. The Opposition’s role here is not to obstruct progress, but it is to push for better outcomes.
“Criticism is not opposition for its own sake; it is a call to address gaps, correct missteps, and to ensure that Government serves all people, regardless of their religion, class or creed. Let us make this a moment where we rise above the fray, put the interest of our people first, and demonstrate that we are worthy of the trust that they have placed in us. I support progress, peace, prosperity and commitment”.
Now, ain’t that mature?? Sadly, your Eyewitness believes she’ll be dubbed “the new Charrandas”!!
…for persistence
Well, you gotta hand it to the PNC/APNU and the AFC. Despite the AFC throwing shade on their coalition talks as being on “life support”, they’ll continue to work on a common platform to facilitate a coalition!!
