Opposition pledges to support to Govt on sovereignty, public interest matters

Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon on Friday insisted that they will support the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government in ensuring that Guyana’s sovereignty and security remain intact.

During the 2020 budget presentation, he told the National Assembly, “We all in the country want peace and I, as leader of the Opposition, am prepared to work with you for peace but that equality and justice must also be given priority…We in the Opposition will only support the Government in issues relating to sovereignty of our nation, public security and any other matter we determine to be in the public interest. Let there be no doubts about it.”
Harmon, who heads the 32-seat Opposition in Parliament, noted that they also will be advocating for equality and justice during the five-year tenure on the said bench. As such, they are welcoming dialogue with President Irfaan Ali.
Last month, the former Foreign Affairs Minister was retained by the new Government, as Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd clarified that the Guyana versus Venezuela border controversy transcends politics.
Greenidge, a People’s National Congress (PNC) stalwart, represented Guyana as its agent on the Guyana v Venezuela border case when the matter was called before the International Court of Justice in the Hague on June 30, while Sir Shridath Ramphal, Guyana’s Attorney General at the time the Geneva Agreement was reached, was Guyana’s co-agent.

The Foreign Affairs Minister had contended, “He’s still integrally involved. We’re very happy to have his service. And he’s very committed to the process. This isn’t a political issue, it’s a national issue. And he recognises that. And he’s very accommodating to us.”
While Harmon has brought forward these commitments, Member of Parliament (MP) David Patterson on Thursday said that the coalition will not stand in the way of any process being pursued.
On Friday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said that as the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration strives to ensure there is more inclusivity in Government, there is no honest interlocutor among the main parliamentary Opposition.
Delivering his contribution to the 2020 Budget Debate on Friday, Jagdeo said: “there is no honest interlocutor on the other side.”
“In Parliament today were the ones who not only sought to steal the elections, but they have absolutely no remorse about it and you see the arrogance about the attempt to steal the elections,” Jagdeo told the National Assembly during his virtual presentation.
“How could they reasonably be honest interlocutors…How do you work with people who have no remorse about the role they played in trying to divide our country and attempt to steal a whole election?”
According to Jagdeo, there might have been some persons in the People’s National Congress (PNC) who had a vision of truly working together, but they have since been “disseminated and removed” by the current leadership in favour of people who have stuck with the “rigging narrative”.
He explained that the PPP/C needs a partner on the other side who, when situations get tough “as they often do”, would have the courage to “stand up and speak the truth to their base”.

Constitutional reform
Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader also called for action as it relates to constitutional reform. He proposed the establishment of a bipartisan bill to amend aspects of the electoral laws until the reform is enacted. According to him, the coalition is willing to foster discussions as it relates to budgetary allocations, to ensure this materialises.
But even as Harmon now calls for this, the Constitutional Reform Commission Bill that was to be examined by the Parliamentary Committee was published on July 26, 2017, and was introduced in the National Assembly on July 27, 2017, and read for the first time. But there have been accusations made of members of the Committee stalling the process.
Constitutional reform was one of the main promises that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition campaigned on for the 2015 elections. However, having taken Government in 2015, the APNU/AFC left it languishing and were heavily criticised for not delivering the reform, which it had said was a “top priority” in its manifesto.
The PPP in its 2020 election manifesto promised that if elected to office, it would advance constitutional reform with the input of the citizens themselves. The party noted the importance of ensuring that the people participate in something as critical as revising the supreme law. The party referenced the constitutional reform it piloted in the late 90s-early 2000s as an example of the process that is needed. (G12)