The private sector yesterday pitched a proposal for the resumption of parliament and a one-month period for meaningful dialogue bet-ween the government and the opposition but opposition leader David Granger said that though well-intentioned, it reads like Déjà vu as similar ground was covered before.
Following what it described as consultation with civil society members, including representatives of labour and religion, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) released its proposal, including a draft declaration for an agreement between the parliamentary political parties.
PSC Chairman Ramesh Persaud stated that it is proposed that President Donald Ramotar considers bringing an end to the prorogation of parliament as soon as practical but no later than the end of this month and that all parties agree to a stay of one-month to facilitate dialogue on key issues before consideration is given to either dissolving the parliament or passing a no-confidence motion against the government.
The PSC also proposes that civil society observe the dialogue process.
However, Granger told Stabroek News that the four main components on the PSC’s proposed agenda during the stay were all issues that had been raised in the past and sidelined by the government.
The proposed agenda put forward by the PSC includes setting a date for local government elections, agreeing on a mechanism to resolve bills that were not assented to by the president, agreeing on a mechanism for approval of supplementary expenditure for 2014, and formulating an inclusionary mechanism for budget talks for the next two years. Completing the set-up of all commissions required by the constitution is also proposed.
Granger explained that up until October 20th, APNU and the government were engaged in discussions. “The President and the PPP government have no interest in resolution,” he said, while noting that “everyone knows that the APNU had lobbied for local government elections to be held by August 1st.”
“…Anil Nandlall, the Attorney General and Basil Williams on behalf of the APNU had met and actually agreed,” he further added, referring to the bills that were rejected by Ramotar.
Granger further pointed out that since 2011, prior to the general elections, APNU had proposed tripartite talks for the budget. He said, “There is no sincerity on behalf of the government, never meaningful. The government had and has said it is their budget and no tripartite discussions have come about.”
Granger stated that while he welcomed the interest and the enthusiasm of the PSC, after examination of the proposal much of what it contained had already been suggested and ventilated multiple times.
“This letter should not have been sent to me but the president,” he added. When asked what the incentive to engage with the government was at this point, he responded, “That is the big question.”
Granger noted that he did not believe at this point talks were appropriate, while saying once more that the government had ample time to engage the opposition. He recalled once again that the high level meeting on October 20th was a prime example of serious engagement on the part of APNU but noted the disingenuous way the government operated. He stated that while talks were ongoing, Ramotar publicly stated he would be a fool to set a date and call local government elections amidst a pending no-confidence motion just days after.
Granger stated that as the leader of the opposition he would still be speaking to the executive of APNU in relation to the PSC’s proposals but noted that since they had for the year been well ventilated and pursued with no government response, he saw very little actually coming from engagements.
Meanwhile, AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan told Stabroek News that he had not as yet seen the proposals from the PSC but noted that the AFC leadership would be consulted. He said that for now, he did not wish to respond to anything he had not spoken about with the party leadership. He did, however, say that the government’s stubbornness has prevented dialogue in the past and he did not foresee this changing.
He stated that the parliamentary prorogation is ongoing even though civil society, the public and politicians have repeatedly called for an ending to the suspension.
Ramjattan told Stabroek News that the pressure is mounting on the president. “They know we have been doing our work and that people are turning up to our bottom house meeting and when they call for one no one coming,” he said.
He also said that the president cannot continue onward with the suspension because the opposition has remained firm on its stance and internationalised the issue sufficiently.
The PSC statement comes off the heels of Granger formally declining talks with the president on a way forward. Granger recently reaffirmed that there will be no talks while the legislative branch of the government, which is essential to democratic rule, is non-functioning.
