To say that a new era of politics was birthed in our beloved Guyana on Thursday, January 12, 2012, would be an understatement. What we witnessed with the convening of the 10th session of the Parliament of Guyana, the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and the swearing in of new members of the Assembly, was historic and transformational. Things can never be the same again. There was no doubt, whether in the minds of those present, or listening, reading or watching on television, as the day’s events unfolded, that the extraordinary was occurring.
Our magnificent team of seven Members of Parliament comprises two stalwarts in Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo, three women in Catherine Hughes, Valerie Garrido-Lowe and June Eula Marcello, one powerful youth leader in Trevor Williams, and the mighty warrior of Berbice, Veersammy Ramayaa. We are extremely proud of our representatives and offer them our heartiest congratulations, support, and best wishes for a successful sojourn; one in which meeting the many needs of the people will be the first and only focus. We have been elected to serve the people and that is what we intend to do.
For the Alliance For Change, we believe that our two stated principles of ensuring that the speakership went to the opposition, and secondly, that the AFC’s candidate was nominated, were met. We salute the selflessness and class of Moses Nagamootoo, MP, and he is our man for all seasons following his courageous and principled stand to rise above the madness that was enveloping his candidacy. He put country, and not self, first. Rabindranauth Tagore described Moses Nagamootoo’s humility when he wrote: “We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.” Moses Nagamootoo is great in the eyes of the people of Guyana.
We thank the members of APNU who supported our candidate and allowed ours to support theirs for Deputy Speaker. Together, we demonstrated that we could put aside our competitiveness and narrow political interests to find consensus and to display the levels of maturity and political good-sense to make a decision in keeping with the people’s expectations. We look forward to a working relationship based on trust and respect, as the light begins to shine on the new political order that has been gifted to us.
Likewise, we applaud the efforts of all those who made it possible for our “magnificent seven” members of Parliament to be part of this new dispensation that Chairman, Khemraj Ramjattan, MP, spoke of. We congratulate all the representatives in the National Assembly, and especially, the first-time Members from all of the parties. Even as we do, we remember that our founding member, Sheila Holder, is absent from this 10th Parliament, but we know her spirit and the ideals for which she fought live on and will be championed by our team.
Despite the rantings about the Opposition doing the government great wrong, by choosing a Speaker of their choice, the Alliance For Change looks forward to working with all the political parties n the National Assembly in a responsible and nationalistic way. We believe that the people knew exactly what they were doing when they ensured that no one party had a 51% majority, as this majority has been abused in the past to allow for rampant corruption, discrimination, and autocratic-style governance.
With a strong Opposition and a strong Government, the result should mean a strong Guyana; provided we are all willing to put country first. Therefore, we will not be drawn into a useless war of words at this time, despite the attacks that have already begun by the government, following their defeat in a democratic and transparent process to elect a Speaker for the National Assembly. There is important business to be addressed as the National Assembly prepares to consider the Budgetary Estimates for the year 2012 against the backdrop of widespread waste taking place in the midst of obvious unmet want.
REGIONAL DEMOCRATIC COUNCILS NEED STRENGTHENING
With all the attention surrounding the election of a Speaker and the calling of the first sitting of the 10th Parliament, we have not placed sufficient emphasis on the establishment of the 10 Regional Democratic Councils, to address the very important administrative matters at the micro level.
Strangely, we elect Regional Councillors just as we do Members of Parliament, to serve for five years, but immediately after the elections, the focus is removed from them; unless there is some saucy upheaval that makes the news. These good men and women are the backbone on which the democratic structure is built and deserve better conditions of service.
The $10,000-a-month stipend that is offered is woefully inadequate to compensate for the volume of work done, or to act as a respectable sum to warrant the status of Regional Councillor. Apart from the need to give the Councillors greater autonomy by removing the burden placed on them by having an imposed Regional Executive Officer, we in the AFC would like to see all Councillors treated fairly, and propose that they be paid the same as Members of the Georgetown City Council, or an amount equivalent to 70% of what a Member of Parliament receives.
In the very near future we intend to raise these, and other pertinent matters, in political dialogue and the National Assembly, as we continue our work of strengthening the democracy that we need to protect.
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