Motion Passed but PPP must be patient with Govt.-Dr. Hinds

Jan 01, 2019 News

By Kiana Wilburg
Even though the Opposition’s No-Confidence motion was passed, the very opposition must exhibit patience with the government which is now seeking to explore the dynamics of the situation.
This is according to Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr. David Hinds.
Dr. Hinds noted that never in Guyana’s history have citizens witnessed a successful No-Confidence Motion. As such, he believes that “we need to ensure that we get it right…”
The WPA Executive Member said, “Some are saying that it was not properly passed and I believe that we should examine that. I would argue that we should do nothing outside of the rule of law and nothing that violates the Constitution. At the end of the day, I don’t think we should have a government versus opposition position. We need consensus that we are doing the right thing.”
“We also have to be conscious of the fact that PPP supporters are likely to feel that the government is trying to keep itself in office. And so, even as the government is exploring all the possibilities, it must bear that mind.

WPA Executive Member, Dr. David Hinds

“While the PPP is correct that the motion was passed, it must be patient and let us ensure that we crossed all the T’s and dotted all the I’s. Both sides need to be patient.”
Dr. Hinds expressed the view that success of the No-Confidence vote exposed the weakness of the coalition.
“The government has to take full responsibility for what happened. With such a slim majority, they governed as though they had a super majority. All of the coalition members did not feel a sense of ownership of the government. So the entire management of the coalition was just filled with mistakes.
“I have always said that when different parties come together, you have to be delicate. And with such a slim majority in the House, you need to be cautious about your policies…”
Dr. Hinds said that there were those in Government who recognized that the coalition was crumbling, “but those in charge were so drunk and seduced by power they couldn’t see this Motion coming or its success.”
The political commentator said that the WPA will have to make a decision on how it is going to move forward with the coalition. He said that his party has not been active with the APNU, nor has the APNU tried to be active with the WPA.
Additionally, the political commentator said that the success of the Opposition’s No-Confidence Motion comes as a blow to those who believe in coalition politics. He said, too, that the outcome exposes the fact that the coalition underestimated the political acumen of the PPP.
He said, “When the coalition went to elections, the PPP was badly wounded. When the APNU+AFC Party got into power, the PPP was able to move from being a party that was battered and bruised to one bringing down the Government in three years.
“And they were winning all the arguments; from wages to sugar to authoritarianism…They are probably the first political party in the Caribbean to do what they did.”
The WPA Executive Member said that the Government has no one but itself to blame for its fall from grace.

TAKEN FOR GRANTED
For some time now, Dr. Hinds has lamented the fact that the Working People’s Alliance was taken for granted by its other coalition partners, particularly the People’s National Congress (PNC). He even said that the WPA’s role in government is minimal.
“We have one Minister, one Presidential Advisor and Chairs of Boards of two state institutions, NICIL and GuySuCo. In addition, Dr. Clive Thomas heads the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU).
“I think in each of those institutions, despite challenges, our representatives have been trying to bring to bear WPA’s larger praxis of fairness, justice for the poor and the powerless and transparency.”
Speaking to the performance of Professor Thomas thus far, Dr. Hinds commented that his presence in the policy-making set up at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) brought some common-sense to the sugar industry.
Despite some problems at the level of implementation, he contended that for the first time, the nation witnessed willingness from the leaders of the day to break out of the political stranglehold in which the sugar industry has been mired. He emphasized that clearly, Thomas’ leadership has made a difference in the larger vision for sugar.
On the issue of State assets recovery, Dr. Hinds said that the SARU CEO has also led the way.
“I think he has singlehandedly placed the issue on the front burner and put us on the brink of a major breakthrough in that area of government fight against public corruption,” expressed the University Professor.
In the area of education, the political activist said that the Minister, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine has begun to move the education praxis in a more democratic direction whereby more emphasis is placed on the children at the bottom of the social ladder. He noted that the reintroduction of music into the schools is another way of ensuring that education is released from the narrow confines it had reached.
But with all that said, Dr. Hinds said that the WPA faces real challenges.
He said, “We are part of a coalition within a larger coalition, and given our lack of proximity to core decision making, our influence on the vision and direction of the government as a whole is muted.
“We also suffer from a simplistic view within the belly of the two bigger partners that since we did not ‘bring votes’ we should not be an influential player. That is a reality that we have no control over.”
Despite some positive movement in recent years, the political activist said that the deep suspicion between the PNC and the WPA still exists.
He said, “There are PNC people who have never forgiven us for contributing to the demise of the previous PNC government while there are many WPA people who have not forgiven the PNC government for orchestrating the assassination of Walter Rodney.”
Dr. Hinds also stated that this thinking has influenced the leadership of the government to relate to the WPA as individuals rather than as a party. Except for the cabinet where the WPA has one voice, Dr. Hinds said that there is no other medium through which the WPA, as a party, can influence overall decision making.
The Executive Member of the WPA said that the party is planning a general members meeting to address this and other burning issues, including morale among some of the members who have been shut out from participation in the government.