President cautiously optimistic about dialogue with opposition – Cabinet Secretary

Georgetown : As many stakeholders continue calls for dialogue between Government and the Parliamentary Opposition, following the prorogation of Parliament, President Donald Ramotar is cautiously optimistic that the opposition will meet with Government.
To this end, invitations have been sent to Opposition leaders, Cabinet Secretary, and Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, told the media at his weekly post-Cabinet press conference yesterday.
Dr Luncheon said that the need for dialogue remains the main reason for the action taken by the President. Cabinet, he added, views the refusal to return parliament to a sense of normalcy as a “loss of a golden opportunity” for the parliamentary opposition to allow for the debate of critical issues facing Guyana.
Among the issues are the Telecommunications Bill, Amended Anti-Money Laundering legislation and the Education Bill.
The Government is faced with several options according to Dr. Luncheon, the first being to “pull the plug today and just forget it”. This move, based on past experiences with the opposition from 2012 to 2014, he said would see a “resort to general elections that would hold the promise of getting with Guyana’s business”. He said that the President has reached out to the opposition with his call for dialogue and stands ready to engage, and anticipates a timely response for the Parliamentary Political parties to engage in dialogue. The official invitations to have dialogue that were sent by the President, Dr. Luncheon said, if rejected, will result in another proclamation by President Ramotar dealing with the dissolution of the 10thParliament. “The president entertains some hope that the Parliamentary Opposition Parties would respond favourably,” he said.
The stance taken by the opposition, according to the HPS, does not address the fundamental aspirations of the Guyanese people. He said, “I think there is a much greater interest in trying to have this problem solved. I want to believe that there is an understanding if the effort is unavailing that this is the course. The notion that we don’t have to do any offer and counter offer that the script is written, I don’t believe that is the position of the vast majority of Guyanese”. It is not uncommon, Dr. Luncheon said that there were various opportunities used before in similar circumstances, to have dialogue, and it is possible that these could be resorted to, to facilitate engagements. It is with “guarded optimism”, Dr. Luncheon added, the government is looking to see how the current situation evolves.
Stakeholders, such as donors are paying keen interest in local parliamentary affairs, hence the Cabinet Secretary said they can feel proud that post-1980, 1990 their contributions have influenced the course of Guyana’s development.
“Hence they have every right to be concerned if they see, if they recognise there are challenges to a continuation of the path of development,” he stated. He noted that government hopes that these concerns raised by the donor community are having some impact to deflect what some may feel is the exorable path to general elections. Asked about indentifying the members of a team of government officials to engage the opposition, the HPS revealed that President Ramotar is “playing this one close to his chest”.
On November 10, 2014 President Ramotar issued the proclamation proroguing the 10thParliament, following the declared intention of the joint opposition to move a no-confidence motion against the government.
The option to prorogue Parliament was taken by the President to allow for both sides to meet resolving several critical issues affecting the nation.