Trotman draws parallel between budget and ‘Mama, I don’t want to be born’
PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar says government’s fibre optic cable project is aimed at breaking the monopoly controlled by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) in the sector, but he also called on the opposition in Parliament on Monday to see it as a path to job creation.
Criticizing the PNCR for “selling out the telephone company” when it was in power, he said, that if GT&T is the only company to bring a cable here it would be the same as entrenching a monopoly in the country. “…if we are going to break a monopoly the only force that can do that in our society is the government,” Ramotar declared in his contribution to the 2010 budget debate.
He argued that a monopoly would be consolidated in the state if GT&T alone controls the cable and stressed that the administration in no way subscribes to such an economic model. This comment triggered a prompt response from the opposition benches with some MPs challenging Ramotar on the government’s radio monopoly; the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran was forced to call on them to allow Ramotar to deliver his presentation uninterrupted.
Ramotar joined the debate amid talk of his presidential ambitions and as he stood up to
speak opposition speakers commented, “Ramotar for President!” He laughed off the remarks then went into a budget speech which focused on government projects that he said clearly point to advances in the country and he also lashed out at the opposition for seeing only negatives.
AFC leader Raphael Trotman on Monday questioned what the PPP/C’s current philosophy is for running the country since according to him this is difficult to tell right now. He said the party’s recent approach has been “pillar to post” as it bounces from El Nino to the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) to trips overseas trips to the Middle East among other things. Trotman said the government is yet to convince anyone that the budget this year offers people anything.
Quoting a line from the song performed by the reigning junior calypso monarch, Tenecia DeFreitas, Trotman told that Assembly that the words, “Mama, I don’t want to be born”, reflect the sentiments of many Guyanese who have looked at the budget and realize there is nothing there for them. He contended that the Finance Minister failed to present the government’s comprehensive and holistic vision for the country in the budget this year. He said too that issues of good governance, accountability and transparency appear to be off the government’s radar and he called on the administration to make them a priority if the country is to really advance.
Prior to Trotman’s presentation Ramotar had declared that the budget is not a document for vision. He said that the PPP/C had established its vision in 1992, 2001 and 2006 and questioned where “all the talk” about vision was coming from. Ramotar also charged that the opposition was not being constructive during the debate saying that it is simply “opposing for opposing sake”.
Soar again
The PPP/C MP also spoke of the sugar industry admitting that it is struggling, but he said the opposition has failed to acknowledge that work is ongoing in the industry. Ramotar said the administration’s Skeldon modernisation project is moving forward and according to him, the current woes facing the industry will pass and sugar is going soar again.
Ramotar said the opposition struggled this year to typically “put down” the budget and he referred to PNCR-1G MP Winston Murray’s opening rebuttal as “petty arguments”. He said no serious criticisms were raised by the speakers who preceded him. He praised the LCDS as an initiative which keeps Guyana ahead of the curve. “Everyone is going in this direction and this puts us ahead,” he said. He concluded that the budget is a tool for modernisation.
For his part, Trotman accused the government of sinking the country further into the poor
state it is in by failing to implement the enhanced framework for cooperation. He said President Bharrat Jagdeo had promised a consultative process of governance, adding that this turned out to be a single meeting back in 2006. He criticized the government for not moving on the Freedom of Information Bill and broadcast law, which he said are fundamental pieces of legislation in any democratic society.
He questioned why no Ombudsman has been appointed and referred to this as “a shame”. He said also that the lack of movement in setting up many critical commissions is disappointing. Further, he argued that the efficacy of the judiciary is seriously undermined by the lack of substantive appointments for the posts of Chancellor and Chief Justice and he called on the Opposition Leader and the President to change this.
PNCR-1G MP Clarissa Riehl also spoke and she decried the pace at which the IDB-funded justice modernization project is being implemented. She said four years have passed since the project was unveiled and that results are still not obvious. Riehl called for mediation centres to be set up in the various counties saying that the process if rolled out across the country is likely to have a tremendous impact on the number of cases being filed in the system.
Material things
Riehl also criticized the government for focusing on “material things” in the budget saying that emphasis should have been placed on people. She said that nothing is wrong with material things, but that the budget should present a balance.
GAP/ROAR MP Everall Franklin also spoke on Monday and he noted that the budgetary provisions this year are not going to help lift people out of poverty. He said the government has no comprehensive plan for development and he questioned where in the budget is the investment in human capital.
Franklin said there are no clear indications as to what the measurable outcomes are of the projected spending in the budget. According to him, pertinent questions can be asked including queries about what is important in the budget this year and whether the people fit into those categories. He also asked where the money is going.
But Ramotar, countering, said that the administration can show where the money it has spent in the country has gone. “We know where it went and we can show you,” he added.