AUTONOMY OF THE PARLIAMENT


A Motion and a Bill, tabled by Khemraj Ramjattan of the AFC and Volda Lawrence of APNU respectively, relating to the autonomy of the Parliament Office, are before the National Assembly. The Motion resolves that a Special Select Committee be appointed to examine two sets of recommendations, one by Sir Michael Davies, a Commonwealth Senior Parliamentary Staff Adviser and the other by the Guyana Fiduciary Oversight Project Final Framework and Guidelines Report by the World Bank, on the issue and advise the National Assembly on the steps to be taken to implement them.

These reports were unanimously approved by National Assembly in 2006. The Motion and the Bill appear to seek the implementation of the reports as they relate to autonomy of the Parliament Office.

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THE PPP AND THE CHALLENGES AHEAD


The election result and its aftermath

Four successive election victories of the Peoples Progressive Party (the Party) in 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2006 were followed by the failure to obtain an absolute majority in 2011. It was unexpected and a shock and disappointment. Under the constitution the Party was entitled to the presidency and the president could appoint ministers from among members of the National Assembly, except for technocrats. The President opted for ministers from only the PPP, leading to a minority, rather than a coalition, majority supported government.

Some attempts have been made to consult with the opposition by way of a tripartite committee. In other respects, such as the budget, the government has declined to consult on the ground of its constitutional mandate to prepare and present the budget.  Mixed signals about consultations from the government, relentless attacks by the opposition and the inability of the government to control its parliamentary agenda, have all resulted in the government being unable to achieve its objectives, thus creating uncertainty and frustration all around.

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INVESTIGATING MISCONDUCT AND CORRUPTION


The Guyana Police Force offers protection and security to the citizens of Guyana.  When, therefore the Acting Commissioner undertakes to improve rapport with the public and investigate misconduct and corruption, it should be welcomed.

Previous Commissioners have given such undertakings in the past, but the fact that they have had to be repeated again and again. It is because the problems of misconduct and corruption are not going away. There is no doubt that efforts have been made to deal with these problems but they are not effective. I encouraged two young men to make complaints to the Office of Professional Responsibility about the conduct two instances of misbehavior of traffic policemen and they were literally laughed out of the room without the traffic policemen even being summoned to answer.

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UNCONTROLLED MONEY SUPPLY IS INFLATIONARY AND HARMFUL


The call has been made by the Opposition and others for the doubling of the pension for senior citizens, a substantial increase in public service salaries of 20 percent and a reduction of VAT, in addition to the income tax threshold which has been increased. These are commendable sentiments and should attract the support of everyone. Unfortunately the full facts about the negative impact of such large increases are not and have never been placed before the same sections of the community for whose benefit the increases are demanded. Increases of the magnitude demanded, especially if the salary increase is not backed by an increase in productivity, would be inflationary and would harm most the groups who the increases are intended to benefit.

Inflation is the measure of the general rise in the prices for goods and services over a period of time. It is caused by an increase in the money supply among other factors. The increases being sought by the Opposition, if granted, would substantially increase the money supply in the economy. The rate of inflation would increase significantly. The end result would be that the initial positive effect of increases in pensions and salaries would be eliminated by the subsequent higher cost of living caused by increased inflation. This would naturally lead to demands for even higher increases thereby leading to a vicious inflationary cycle.

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INCUMBENCY FATIGUE


A few people were amused (see last Sunday’s SN cartoon), others intrigued, by the term ‘incumbency fatigue’ which I used at a press conference to explain the reduced vote obtained by the PPP/C at the elections. I cannot recall where I discovered the term but, whether rightly or wrongly used, I meant that some of us – supporters of the PPP – may have been sufficiently tired for no reason other than being in office too long that we could not be bothered to vote.

Everyone has a different take on what was responsible for the decline in PPP support from 54 percent in 2006 to 48 percent in 2012. Many look at the superficial. The reality is that Guyana’s political landscape is changing. It must after twenty years. There are demographic, economic, social and political changes that are deep going and which will continue to affect political outcomes. The PPP must adapt to the changes.

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