APNU’s selective participation in policy-making discussions shows party’s ‘shallowness’

HIGHLIGHTING the selective participation of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in national policy-making discussions, Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo said that the opposition will continue its heckling in order to cover up its “shallowness.”

Jagdeo, during a live interview on Thursday, said: “I think their [APNU] track record is so bad and we’re correcting so many things they did, that they are even embarrassed to speak about it, and when they do speak, it exposes how shallow the content of their speech is.”

He added that although the opposition members are among the first to criticise, they never put forth recommendations.

The Vice-President referenced the absence of APNU in the National Assembly during deliberations on and the passage of the National Resources Fund (NRF) Act.

He said the sovereign wealth fund was improperly managed under the previous NRF Act, which was promulgated after the passage of the "no confidence" motion against the APNU+AFC Coalition.

While in opposition, Jagdeo remarked that the PPP had expressed concerns about several elements of the NRF Act, particularly the need for arms-length management of the resources, and to strengthen transparency of the receipt of funds.

“We have vastly enhanced the accountability provisions by law now,” he said, expounding on the fact that the Act provides strengthened transparency and withdrawals of funds to be thoroughly scrutinised.

Vice-President Jagdeo related: “So they [APNU] choose antics and gimmicks to sidetrack the truth or obfuscate the truth in a lot of these matters because they don’t have any other position.”

He highlighted another instance where the opposition was silent on another matter of national interest, which was the discussions on the Data Protection Bill 2023.

Despite being one of the most important issues for the country because it is anticipated to bring Guyana in line with international best practices on data protection and privacy, and regulate the implementation of the electronic identification card (e-ID) system in Guyana, the bill received no input from the main opposition.

Turning to APNU’s position on the Petroleum Activities Bill, Jagdeo said the opposition’s commentary lacked substance.

He not only said that APNU displayed its inability to use its technical skills, but despite all of the party’s proposed views, it has never once put forth a suggestion to the government.

Further, several of the opposition’s concerns with the Bill were addressed by the Vice-President.

He expounded on the role of the Petroleum Bill and stressed that it serves as a modern and thorough means of replacing the outdated Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act (1986), and what the Opposition commented on has been addressed elsewhere.

Jagdeo said the PPP, while in opposition, was always adamant about assisting the government with measures that were in the people's best interests.