If the public reaction to last week’s article (Cheddi’s mantra was `give them the books’ SN: 16/05/12) is anything to go by, discussions between the government and the opposition on financial matters will not bear much fruit anytime soon. The general tenor of those comments, while humorous, was that the government is in no position to allow the level of financial transparency the opposition requires and, as one wit claimed, the best case position for the government is to “take the fifth” (In America people “take the fifth” when exercising their constitutional right to remain silent lest they incriminate themselves)! What this position suggests is that we are in for a politically bumpy ride as the opposition presses its claims and the government seeks to divert attention by pointing in other directions such as the effect of the cuts on job losses, Amerindian development, etc.
While recognizing that if the above position is true, I may be blowing in the wind, sooner or later the process will settle down. In a few months, the 2013 budget cycle for ministries will begin,