Minister of State Joe Harmon is awaiting a response from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on whether the party will be engaging the APNU+AFC alliance for a more unified and inclusive government.
Harmon wrote to the General Secretary of the PPP, Clement Rohee last Monday outlining a preliminary framework of inclusionary governance. The minister told Stabroek News yesterday that there has been no response from the PPP as yet.
However, he noted, there is no deadline attached to the formal offer of inclusionary democracy.
“We have said that we want to join a government of national unity and inclusionary governance…the Sletter was to say let’s talk and let’s establish some sort of ground rules for how we will engage with each other and to understand how they see themselves in the process,” he disclosed.
The Minister stated that the government’s positon is not one in which the coalition aims to dictate the interaction process with the PPP.
“We don’t want to say when we talk about inclusionary democracy, we are saying how we feel, we want to hear their take on things,” he said citing as an example that the PPP could provide insight into how the Local Govern-ment mechanism functions.
“The aim is real meaningful discussions…towards the governance of the country which means all the way from the tops and the RDCs and the NDCs, the whole structure of government,” he said. “It is a political party we are dealing with.
People have voted for them, they represent a very large constituency. This dialogue must be open it must be transparent,” the minister added.
Harmon noted that the letter was brief and without specifics, but it outlined the government’s intention to hear what the PPP has to say and contribute for a more unified and cohesive government structure. “The actual agency will be developed by both of us,” he said while adding that the government did not want to send the PPP a letter outlining what their expectations are for an opposition party as that would negate what the inclusionary process is about and what the government is attempting to facilitate at a formal level.
The government’s formal request comes a few weeks after President David Granger’s first address to the nation at which point he said “I extend the arm of friendship to former President Donald Ramotar… to join this movement of national unity.”
The PPP had denounced Granger’s initial statements as a political gimmick saying that there was no formal request for dialogue.
There was no indication from the PPP last week as to whether they had received or were considering a formal request from the government. Rohee could not be reached for comment yesterday.
