Dear Editor,
Spending some time in the gallery of the National Assembly on Friday, I left with a feeling of sorrow and fear that our government had not yet shed its arrogance, a feature that can only slip Guyana into deep trouble.
First, why should a party in office walk out on a matter that should gain national support, that is, the Bill moved by APNU Leader David Granger to establish a Heritage Commission? This is an unbelievable rejection of the cultural roots of our society.
Next and worrisome is the PPP’s failure to show some sort of maturity and decency by supporting the Bill to make reasonable the former President’s Pension and other Benefits Act.
Every reasonable person including PPP supporters accepts the 2009 Benefits Act for former presidents as excessive and in need of adjustment to bring it in line with the region and the world. The PPP missed a glorious opportunity to be gracious and regain some credibility.
But why this group of PPP leaders is violating all of the principles of being frugal like those of its founder Dr Cheddi Jagan, is yet to be explained.
But what bothered me as an ex-staff member of the former hardworking Prime Minister, is this: no one sought to suggest a package for former prime ministers. We heard reference to the leader of the opposition and judges, but not one sentence for former prime ministers. The Parliament must deal with this injustice, or error.
Yours faithfully,
Eric Mosley
