As the 210 budget debates wound down last Monday evening, Opposition Leader Robert Corbin called on the government to pay heed to the advice of the parliamentary opposition, as he identified this as one of the keys to accelerated progress in the country.
During a passionate presentation to the National Assembly as he wrapped up the contributions from the opposition, Corbin reminded the government that they had been elected by the people to develop the country. “You have been elected by the people of Guyana to perform. You’re not doing anybody a favour. You fight for the work… You got to perform. And we are here to hold your toes to the fire and see you perform according to the mandate…. So don’t boast about you doing this and doing that. Yes, we expect you to do that. But our job, very simply, is to say to you while you may be doing good in certain areas, there are opportunities to do better if you take our advice.”
Corbin criticised the government’s repeated failure to listen to constructive criticism from the opposition parties. He rejected suggestions from the government benches that the PNCR-1G was opposing just for the sake of being against the government, Corbin recalled that his party had brought to the National Assembly a motion on tax reform some time in the past, but that it was only now it was addressed in the budget. He also contended that when the party had proposed a bi-partisan group to discuss the National Development Strategy, it had been rebuffed by the finance minister. Citing another example Corbin also said that while the government is attempting to solve the problem of traffic on the East Bank Highway, it had totally ignored worthwhile proposals that the PNC had already designed prior to 1992.
Quoting the words of the former president Linden Forbes Burnham, Corbin told the members of the government said that “arrogance and insensitive behaviour do not go hand in hand with service to people.”
He said that in the past when the main opposition party sought to collaborate with the government to deal with matters such as Clico, the Lusignan massacre and problems in Region One, it was always frustrated by the administration.
Corbin also said that the figures presented by the Finance Minister in his 2010 Budget “cannot bear scrutiny” since many of them are contradicted by the World Development Indicators on the World Bank website. He also noted that the World Health Organisation’s website had frightening statistics as it related to the child mortality rates and maternal deaths, which easily exceeded the average for the region.
The opposition leader also expressed his disappointment at the lack of vision in the budget. He said the budget did not have a coherent plan to create the necessary social and economic conditions to lift Guyanese out of poverty. He charged that despite what the PPP/C would have promised in its 2006 manifesto this did not give the administration any right to ignore consultations with the wider society.
Meanwhile the opposition leader also expressed concern at the recent opening of the Princess Casino and noted that it had begun operations without the necessary procedural requirements. “The railroaded Casino Legislation required that regulations should be presented to support it. To date we have not seen any,” he said.
Prior to Corbin’s presentation, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee delivered a scathing attack on the opposition parties, particularly the PNCR-1G for playing political games, and for opposing the government’s efforts just for the sake of opposing. During his presentation, the minister reflected on the PNC’s time in office and noted that it had been characterized by failed promises and pointless initiatives.
The minister, however, did briefly speak on security matters, and refuted suggestions made last week by PNCR-1G Shadow Home Affairs Minister Deborah Backer that the populace had lost faith in the police and were not reporting matters. He said this was not supported by any evidence.
Regarding the Guyana Defence Force, Rohee, a member of the Defence Board, stressed that there is no move to weaken the army. He said decisions regarding the army are aimed at increasing its capacity to ensure that the nation’s borders are well protected.
On the ticklish issue of abuse, the minister accused the PNCR-1G of not doing enough to spread the message of the “Stamp it Out’ campaign among the wider society.
The minister, however, pledged that the PPP/C will continue to take Guyana forward even, but added that the government had never pledged that prosperity was right around the corner.
