Once again, leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lenox Shuman had to defend his political individuality after he was elected as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly on Tuesday by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
Shuman’s seat in parliament represents a joinder of three parties inclusive of the A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and The New Movement (TNM). The three parties had signed an agreement to count their votes collectively after the elections and, together, managed to acquire just over 5,000 votes. It won them one seat in parliament and, the LJP reeling in the most votes at just over 2,000, was able to nominate Shuman as their first representative.
However, on August 22, he was appointed by the Office of the President as an Adviser to the Minister of Public Works on Civil Aviation. The former Toshao’s allegiance came into question by the media and the public but he repeated his position as shared at a previous meeting held with executives of the joinder parties. “What we did at the Arthur Chung Convention Center (during the recount), what we did from elections day to the end was fought to defend the democracy in Guyana. We didn’t fight for anything, we fought for the people of Guyana and I think the nation should recognize that. Fighting for democracy does not mean you’re fighting for a political party, you’re fighting for the people and that is what brought us to this point,” he had said.
However, his nomination and election to the post of Deputy Speaker by the PPP marks yet another occasion of association with the party which led the media to question whether such ‘random acts of kindness’ would sway is position in Parliament. His election to the post in the place of former Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, who was nominated by the APNU/AFC, also caused the Opposition to walk out of Parliament.
Even though he spoke to reporters previously on the issue, Shuman took to his Facebook page Tuesday afternoon in a live video to further drive home the point that he was not ‘warming up’ to the PPP. “A lot of people seem to think that one cannot be a technical adviser and also conduct themselves with integrity in the House. I will remind our viewers and anyone that’s watching that the Liberty and Justice Party, of which I’m a part of, signed an agreement…to be able to make decisions as a collective body in Parliament. So, whatever decisions, whatever votes we have in parliament, those are going to be voted on collectively. So, there’s no one man show per se that is going to parliament,” he told his viewers.
The former Toshao says he sees no conflict in his actions because advising on aviation is technical and not political. Shuman is a licensed pilot. He is the holder of a Canadian and US Airline Transport Pilot License with Single and Multi-Engine Land and Sea Aircraft rating.
His 8,000 hours of flight experience was garnered through his flying of the following types of Aircrafts – Pa-31; NMK-II: C-172, 180, 185, 206; Pa-34; Beech Baron: DHC-2, 3; Be-18, 100, 200, 1900D; DHC-8Q400; B738, 757,767.
Addressing his election as Deputy Speaker he said “…the Deputy Speaker is an apolitical position. Yes, it comes from a political party but, when you’re there, you’re guided by rules of the House, you’re guided by Standing Orders, you’re guided by what is in front of you. So, there’s no political interference there. I don’t go and represent a political agenda as the Deputy.” Shuman stated further that he is aware that his role as Deputy Speaker will be very “restrictive” and he intends conduct himself at his best even as he represents the first indigenous Guyanese to do so.
