Amid the talk about a no-confidence motion against the government, Leader of the Opposition, David Granger last Tuesday made a reference to the 10th Parliament fulfilling its five-year term.
During a press briefing commemorating A Partner-ship for National Unity’s (APNU) third anniversary, Granger said “I believe that the remaining two years of the life of the 10th parliament you will see much greater autonomy of the National Assembly.”
He stated that ”we are now starting on a long road to establish the autonomy of the legislative branch so I think we have done a great deal so far there is more to be done”.
Granger’s choice of words raises the question of whether it was deliberately done in the face of the prospect of APNU having at some time to decide on a motion of no-confidence against the government or whether it was just a slip of the tongue.
Observers say that given his awareness of the prospect of a no-confidence vote it would have been tactically wiser for Granger to leave open the prospect of a vote rather than hinting that the government would run its full course.
Granger stated on Tuesday that ministers of the government know they are accountable to the National Assembly due to all the work being done by the opposition parties.
However the criticism remains that the opposition has not done enough to hold the government accountable for sustained actions that are described as being unconstitutional. Critics would also say that no minister has varied any actions that have incurred the wrath of the opposition.
Granger has been cautious in the past to committing to a no-confidence motion.
He had previously stated that the AFC and the APNU would be “coordinating our position and our action.
We will take a course of action, but you will have to wait and see”.
He had also stated that it was not originally the APNU that had raised the issue of a no-confidence motion, but was careful to say that the possibility was never off the table.
APNU had said that its major priority at this point is addressing the “illegal” spending of unapproved sums by the Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh.
It is this $4.5B expenditure that has spurred the move by the Alliance For Change to press for a no-confidence vote against the government which if passed would bring the government down. For the motion to pass APNU would have to support it.
