Guyana exists politically in a state of virtual reality. In the film The Matrix and in George Orwell’s novel, 1984, such realities were creatively and brilliantly portrayed. The government says to the opposition, which has a majority in the National Assembly: You are obliged to pass my Budget but I’m not obliged to assent to your Bills. Or: I have my legislative agenda and sanity can only prevail if you facilitate it on a date convenient to me. And: The radio and cable licences have a wide ethnic and geographic spread. These are just three of many examples over the past year and they are enough to demonstrate the point.
In this virtual reality the government is entitled to have its agenda attended to in a timely manner, is entitled to have its Budget passed, is entitled to have the Speaker rule in its favour and is entitled to control over the National Assembly.
The existence of a mindset dominated by the virtual reality has found expression by practical demonstration in recent actions. In vetoing the recent opposition Bills passed in the National Assembly, the President said that one was unconstitutional and another required the
