Opposition Leader David Granger says his office is doing its best with the limited resources available but wants to see adequate funding allocated in this year’s budget so that it can perform more effectively.
“Well, I would like a bicycle at least to deliver mails,” Granger, the leader of the main opposition APNU, told a news conference last week.
He noted that former president Bharrat Jagdeo had enacted legislation that provided for financial support for the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.
He added that equipment and infrastructure are needed in order to enable opposition members to effectively perform their tasks. He said APNU members cannot do their research, go through documentation and engage with the public as they ought to because of limited infrastructure and resources.
He said the coalition needs to have resources to enable shadow ministers to do their work properly. APNU, he noted, only has 10 shadow ministers who have to cover 20 ministries. This, Granger said, doubles the responsibility of each shadow minister.
He argued that the Tenth Parliament is the closest to becoming a full time Parliament and pointed out that APNU’s parliamentarians, in addition to assuming responsibilities as shadow ministers also have commitments to geographical areas.
