Dear Editor,
It is worth noting the public division in the government on the matter of revoking the broadcast licences illegally handed out by former President Mr. Jagdeo. The AFC leader disagrees with his colleague’s view. The WPA’s Roopnaraine also disagrees with Mr. Nagamootoo. Mr. Nagamootoo eventually disagreed with his initial position. Mr. Carl Greenidge of the PNC has taken a stand on the side of revoking the licences. Diversity of thought on these matters is healthy, but when you are the government, it is imperative that you fashion a consistent approach out of that diversity.
One continues to get the feeling that the governing parties have not yet hammered out a cohesive vision. There seems to be no clear and consistent sense of how to approach these big issues. If they are to govern effectively they would have to do that sooner rather than later. It appears as if the Cabinet is the only real functioning institution of the Coalition. But vision and general political strategy and tactics cannot be framed in Cabinet; they have to be worked out away from the day-to-day governance of the country. In fact Cabinet deliberations should be informed by this larger vision.
The inability to arrive at this cohesive vision is one of the problematics of Partnership Government—consensus takes longer to be arrived at. But this should not be a deterrence. Rather it should be an incentive to try harder. I still believe that President’s Granger last address to the National Assembly is a good document to begin that conversation. A government without a large vision could survive, but its survival would always be tenuous.
Yours faithfully,
David Hinds
