…Harmon says in outlining opposition’s agenda
Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon said today that his party believes that the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPPs) time in government is only temporary, as the elections petition filed by the coalition will successfully “restore democracy to Guyana”.
Representing his party as Opposition Leader at Parliament today, Harmon said that he was disappointed to be sitting on the opposite side of the House but that this has not daunted his spirit or that of others within the party.
“I’m cognizant and convinced that being in opposition is not our rightful place. We were ousted from government by fraudulent means. Nevertheless, we were legitimately elected to the Parliament. We did not get a rightful number of seats nor are we on the side of the House which we ought to be, but we will work within the framework of the Judiciary where we have filed our election petition and the legislation to restore democracy to Guyana and to return to our rightful place in government,” he said confidently.
His party, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) filed their Elections Petition to the March 2, 2020 elections on Monday. Until finality is brought to matter, Harmon said that the APNU/AFC’s Members of Parliament (MPs) will lobby for the advancement of the Decade of Development as envisioned by former President David Granger.
The themes listed that Guyanese can look forward to include the petroleum state, the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), the digital state and the Education State. He said that while the coalition will cooperate with the PPP on matters in relation to Guyana’s sovereignty, the nation, public security and other matters in the public’s interest, it will not be “business as usual”.
“We are committed to the robust and aggressive legislative agenda to see the removal of this fraudulent PPP from government so we can continue to work and build that which we started when we were in government and which we’ve already commenced,” he said.
On that note, the Opposition Leader singled out the appointment of Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman, Gerry Gouveia as a national security advisor to the president; leader of A New United Guyana (ANUG), Ralph Ramkarran as an advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lenox Shuman as advisor to the Minister of Public Works; former President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), Shyam Nokta as an advisor on Local Content; and former senior government functionaries, Dr. Roger Luncheon and Carl Greenidge as advisors.
“We are already aware of the squandamania that has started in one month since this PPP came into Government and we’ll have them account for it,” the Opposition Leader promised.
He also brought attention to the 20 Ministries established by the PPP in comparison to the 15 established by the former administration; the failure to appoint Parliamentary Secretaries and the high-level “rapid assessment team” commissioned by President Irfaan Ali.
On the matter of the Rapid Assessment Team, Harmon said that who paid them, how much they were paid and what they discovered would be matters raised in the National Assembly.
