Former Leader of the Opposition and the PNCR Robert Corbin has said that Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee was symbolic of the security sector’s inability to perform and he should take responsibility for this.
“It is not Rohee himself, Rohee was symbolic of the failure of the agency that was responsible for security in this country, performing to a level of satisfaction to satisfy the community generally…” Corbin said recently on chartered accountant Christopher Ram’s television programme Plain Talk.
The opposition has taken public flak on the stalemate surrounding the Rohee issue but according to Corbin to see it simply as a question of “Rohee go or Rohee stay” would be to overlook the fundamental issues that he represents.
“Here you have a police force that has not functioned properly and the issue is therefore would the executive take responsibility and be accountable for the agency that is under its control,“ Corbin said.
Recently Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman in a ruling prevented Rohee’s participation in the affairs of the National Assembly in his capacity as a minister, pending the findings of the Committee of Privileges on the enforceability of a motion in the name of Opposition Leader David Granger seeking to have Rohee gagged in parliament.
That ruling has since been challenged by attorney-at-law Anil Nandlall in the High Court whose actions came shortly after President Donald Ramotar declared that the government would take steps to defend the minister in the wake of the ruling.
Granger’s motion came after the opposition had passed a no-confidence vote against the minister, but the Speaker had ruled that based on legal advice he had no legal authority to prevent the minister from addressing Parliament and this had prompted the opposition to drown out Rohee as he attempted to speak. They then later brought the motion to gag Rohee. During the almost one hour programme last Sunday Ram asked Corbin whether the “lawlessness and corruption that is overseen by the Ministry of Finance” was not as important to put on the table with the same kind of energy as the Rohee issue.
Corbin, who made clear that he was speaking as a citizen and could not dictate to APNU, said that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the sectoral committees have also been installed and those are the committees which are responsible for scrutinizing and examining the various aspects of governance. He said the five sectoral committees in Parliament will now have an opportunity to scrutinize even the Minister of Finance.
Asked about the fact that the first year of the National Assembly in the new dispensation has seen the fewest sittings in 20 years, Corbin said that this is so because the parties have not adjusted to the reality that no one group can fully control the outcome.
He said that for the opposition there must be a “meeting of the minds” between AFC and APNU and he had heard about one instance where matters had to be postponed because this had not happened. He said Guyana is not the only country in the world where the Parliament is not controlled by the government and there are opportunities that have not been fully exploited in this new political situation.
According to the former opposition leader the people of Guyana have suffered because there should have been an appreciation by the major players that the “right hand and the left hand needed to work together,” and in the preparation of the budget there should have been greater collaboration so that there would have been a programme that had the consensus of the major political parties.
‘More responsible approach’
Corbin called for a “more responsible approach” to be taken to the next budget on the part of the PPP/C and APNU in the sense that the ruling party should recognize that if they want full cooperation and support they should expose their budgetary preparations to the key people in APNU and the programmes they want to implement would “take into account the constituencies that the APNU and the AFC represent, and if they do that you will have a more collaborative approach.”
Asked about the fact that Parliament went into recess for five weeks when so little has been done, Corbin said that the recess is part of the Standing Orders and he feels if the fundamental issues are addressed then Parliament would meet more often. However, he agreed that the recess could have been suspended. The reality is that there has been “a lot of cat and mouse game” as the government is worried about having matters passed in parliament and the most the opposition can do is ensure their members are present as they are still not the government, the former opposition leader said.
He noted that while he is not in active politics he is still on the PNCR’s central executive and is concerned about what is happening in Guyana.
Having been involved for so many years he said he cannot be immune from what has been going on and so “naturally I am very much concerned that Guyana is not advancing at a pace at which most Guyanese hope it would.”
He is conscious about the many problems leaders face when they are called upon to make decisions, and is aware of some of the unknown stories about decision-making, and he is in a better position to appreciate some of the problems political leaders face. According to Corbin, there are very high expectations on the part of the population which sometimes feels let down by the various political parties, because they do not appreciate the difficulties parties face having to work together.
He pointed out that no party which is not in office can deliver on a promise when they don’t control the reins of government, and so to expect that APNU or the opposition in parliament can deliver on their manifesto when they don’t control the executive is misunderstanding the way that governments function.
Ram asked him about specific promises the APNU manifesto made about bringing matters to parliament that have not been delivered, and Corbin said it depends on what those things are. He said APNU promised that within days of getting into government they would invite all the parties including the PPP/C to form a government of national unity but that promise could not be fulfilled.
However, Ram pointed out that partnership’s manifesto mentioned the establishment of a budget office and he said where this was concerned there could have been legislation on the matter.
Corbin, again stressing he was not representing the partnership, said that whatever the manifesto would have said, the partnership cannot deliver on those promises unless it had the full mandate of the electorate which is what it had appealed for.
However, Ram queried whether the partnership cannot introduce legislation.
“[APNU] by itself in parliament cannot deliver on any promise unless in that specific instance they would… have the collaboration of the AFC so that no one party could deliver on a promise unless there is collaboration with the other.
“And it is precisely for that reason that I still believe and I hold strong to the view that this country would not progress unless there is a true political modus vivendi where the major political parties understand that this country belongs to all of us.”
Corbin stressed that unless there is an appreciation of the new political situation in Guyana many Guyanese could be prevented from having their high expectations fulfilled.
‘Come to grips’
“The government itself has not come to grips with the reality that it does not control the majority in the parliament, so the government itself cannot do certain things unless it gets the full cooperation of the opposition. On the other hand they are at an advantage because the executive to some extent have a greater mandate; they control the purse strings, they control decision-making…”
However, Ram pointed out the prior to the parliamentary recess not a single bill had been tabled in the National Assembly by APNU, and he asked whether in his interactions with ordinary citizens Corbin has heard them saying that the partnership could have done more.
People have expressed disappointment Corbin said, but “they are using as their yardstick criteria which I believe are misunderstood.” He said for example they are in some cases misled by public commentary “from people who should know better,” who said that the APNU could have passed a bill.
Ram countered that the partnership could have at least introduced a bill.
“Are we talking about playing politics or are we talking about genuinely improving the country?” Corbin queried whether this was not political grandstanding.
Ram probed him about whether he thought introducing an anti-corruption bill is grandstanding.
Corbin pointed out that if a bill is introduced in Parliament it requires the executive to implement it and there is a situation where the executive is reluctant even to implement constitutional provisions which exist much less a bill passed by the opposition.
Ram however argued that if President Donald Ramotar does not assent to a bill that was passed he would be opening himself to impeachment because part of his job as President is to uphold and respect the constitution.
A smiling Corbin said that it is views like Ram’s that make people have high expectations. He said that the PPP/C is responsible for management while the Parliament is for making law, and as a result there needs to be “a meeting of minds between the policy-makers and the managers in the interest of the people of Guyana.”
Unfortunately, he said the PPP has not psychologically adjusted to the new satiation “where they can’t have their way in every respect.” Corbin said he has been disappointed that there has not been a more affable approach, particularly from President Ramotar who as General Secretary of the PPP/C was aware that the PNC was seriously involved in discussions with that party about trying to have shared governance work in Guyana.
He said he would have thought that Ramotar would have used his power as President to initiate that kind of discussion with the political parties.
However, what has been happening in Parliament is that every party is holding on to its own goals and objectives to the extent that “many things that could have been achieved have not been achieved.”
No rift
Meanwhile, in answer to Ram, Corbin said there has been no real rift in the PNC party following its primaries for a presidential candidate which saw David Granger being elected, but he admitted that they did not get “maximum solidarity” after the elections, although that was to be expected.
“But I think the pluses were greater; in other words I believe the democratic culture of the party was enhanced, the credibility of the process was improved and I believe that it helped that party and provided a useful guide for the future…”
At least one the candidates in the primaries, Dr Faith Harding, is no longer in the front line of the party and she had accused the party of rigging the system in favour of Granger. She has since resigned from the party’s central executive which occurred after she was laughed at by two female central executive members at a meeting.
Nevertheless, Corbin feels that the party is on a road to further strengthening itself with its membership being revitalized.
