OFFICE OF THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION TO MOVE CLOSER TO THE COMMON PEOPLE

Tuesday 17^th January 2012

 

The ‘Office of Leader of the Opposition’ will be established in a public place and not in a political party headquarters, according to Brigadier David Granger.  The intention will be to make it more accessible to the common people. “The majority of the electorate voted for the Opposition parties and their voices must be heard”, both inside and outside the National Assembly, Granger said.

Elected on 16^th January, Granger emphasised that the ‘Leader of the Opposition’ was a Constitutional Office established under Article 184 of the Constitution of Guyana. He iterated his intention to ensure that the 10th Parliament played a transformational role in governance and national development. He renewed his resolve to work with his colleagues to bring about “real change” in the country’s political culture, to rekindle the spirit of parliamentary democracy and to re-establish the supremacy of the legislative branch.

Granger addressing the National Assembly last week, had expressed the hope that the Honourable House would be managed in a way that would “promote democracy, prevent abuse, protect the people’s interest and provide a good life for all Guyanese.” He emphasised that while he did not expect the task to be easy, A Partnership for National Unity – APNU – would always be committed to realising the aspirations of the Guyanese people for a ‘good life’.

He disclosed that the ‘shadow cabinet’ was the core of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.  The ‘cabinet’, itself, was part of the APNU Parliamentary Group which already had its inaugural meeting. Discussions had also started on the appointment of a 10-member ‘shadow cabinet’ which, most likely, will include Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine; Mr. Carl Greenidge; Mr. Ronald Bulkan; Ms. Amna Ally; Mrs. Deborah Backer; Mrs. Volda Lawrence; Mr. Joseph Harmon; Mr. Winston Felix; Mr. Basil Williams and Dr. George Norton.

Granger expressed confidence in the competence and commitment of his ‘shadow cabinet’ and looked forward to contributing to the deliberations and decisions of the National Assembly. He defined his own role as leading opposition to the Executive by continuously “examining its actions, exploring its weaknesses, exposing abuse, eliminating corruption and enhancing governance” in the interest of all Guyanese.

He expected, nevertheless, that the Tripartite Conference – among A Partnership for National Unity, the Alliance for Change and the People’s Progressive Party Civic – will make real progress towards realising the goal of ‘inclusionary democracy’ as prescribed under Article 13 of the Constitution. The Executive must be prepared to abandon its ‘winner-takes-all’ mindset and engage in real collaboration with the other parties in the National Assembly to move Guyana forward.

A Partnership for National Unity (A.P.N.U)

Secretariat

121 Regent Road, Bourda

Georgetown, Guyana