PNC/R prioritises new regime for Oil and Gas sector in New Year

Jan 01, 2022 News

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…demands National Consultative body, accountable oversight of fund—Norton

Kaieteur News – Newly elected leader of the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNC/R), Aubrey Norton, in his New Year’s message to Guyana and his party’s constituents has promised to prioritise in 2022, a revamped oil and gas regime.

One where, there is the establishment of a National Consultative body on Oil and Gas to inform decision making and promote and protect the interest of the Guyanese people.
Additionally, Norton said, “we demand inclusive, transparent and accountable governance and oversight of the Natural Resource Fund and a programme to transfer some of the oil wealth to the marginalised, poverty-stricken segments of all ethnic groups of the population, including activation of the Buxton Proposal or a similar initiative, infrastructural renewal and expansion in disadvantaged communities.”
To this end, he reminded that Guyanese watched, the funds in the Natural Resource Fund grew, and were “fooled into believing that these funds were not being touched by the Government. Now we all know better, as the Government, since being installed on August 2, 2020, has borrowed almost twice the money in the Fund.”
As such, according to Norton, “in 2022, our preoccupation as a Party will be to provide the requisite leadership to effect change. We will continue the fight for a fair, just and equitable Guyana. We must be ever more vigilant in holding the Government accountable as we insist that they stop violating our laws and Constitution.”
Adamant “we are committed to tackling the burning issues of the day, such as corruption, discrimination, poverty, crime, unemployment, especially youth unemployment and the non-support of small and micro businesses,” Norton said, “we demand the resolute upholding of our Constitution especially in respect of the three branches of Government.”
Additionally, he said the party will be demanding the proper functioning and strengthening of the guardrails of “our withering democracy, including the Public Procurement Commission, National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, and the Integrity Commission, inter alia.”
He said too, “we demand a more effective Parliament. Its current functioning is at the behest of the Government. It meets infrequently, with most of its sittings targeted at financial matters. We need action to shift the Parliament away from being the rubber stamper of government’s decisions.”
This, in addition to having a government in place that must work with the labour unions on labour-related issues, including the return of collective bargaining, the fight for a decent wage and better working conditions, especially in view of the burgeoning oil sector, the Dutch disease and the differential wages paid to Guyanese and foreign workers for the same jobs.
These demands, he said, are being made at a time when the Irfaan Ali regime “is very dictatorial and there is need for good governance and respect for the Rule of Law.”
To this end, Norton in his end of year message said “fellow Guyanese, you can expect the practice of good governance and respect for the rule of law from the APNU+AFC, of which the PNCR is a major actor.”
He qualified this position by adumbrating “our approach to our responsibility of holding the installed Irfaan Ali government accountable, and eventually removing them from office and working to make our lives as Guyanese better will be characterised by our philosophy of democracy, economic freedom and the rule of law.”
This disposition, he said, will be obvious in the way in which “we do things and, in the support, and defense that we will offer the people of Guyana against the dictatorial practices of the Irfaan Ali regime.”
According to the newly elected PNC/R Leader, “Guyanese are not living in a democracy. We do not enjoy political and economic freedom. There is no respect for the rule of law as we speak and therefore the concepts of democracy, economic freedom and the rule of law are germane to the circumstance of hardships that we as hardworking, peaceful and law-abiding Guyanese are facing, a mere 16 months after the Irfaan Ali government was installed in power.”
Lamenting the existing state of affairs, Norton iterated inflation has jumped nearly seven per cent since Irfaan Ali and the PPP/C took office and “it means that Guyanese are worse off than when the Coalition government was in office. I worry about how we will cope with the 15 percent spike in the price of foodstuff; No one will doubt that the cost of living is extremely high.”
He posited that this massive increase in food prices is no accident since “it has everything to do with the lack of economic freedom and a deceitful and incompetent PPP/C government that does not know how to reduce the cost of living for Guyanese.”

 

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