By Fareeza Haniff
[www.inewsguyana.com] – Labour Minister, Dr Nanda Gopaul has strongly defended President Donald Ramotar’s decision to prorogue the Parliament, by stating that he [Ramotar] should not be seen as a dictator but instead, he should be seen as a peacemaker.
Dr Gopaul made his personal views known on the radio programme, ‘Hard Talk’ aired on 90.1 Love FM today, Sunday, November 16. He told the programme’s host, Chris Chapwanya that the President has made room for government and the combined Political Opposition to meet and discuss on critical issues affecting the country rather than facing the No Confidence Motion in the National Assembly, which would have resulted in General and Regional Elections.
The President has received condemnation from various sections of society following his decision to prorogue the Parliament for six months. However, Dr Gopaul believes that President Ramotar has given the Opposition a “holiday to get themselves together.”
“It can’t be seen as the action of a dictator. It has to be seen as the action of a peacemaker, an action of someone who cares; the President has put himself over and above his Party by doing this thing and say let’s meet and talk. What he wants to do is to exercise statesmanship role in this process and he should be seen for that and not seen as having ulterior motives,” Dr Gopaul said.
However, the political Opposition, led by David Granger, has made it pellucid that it will not engage the government in any dialogue outside of Parliament.
Dr Gopaul asked that the Opposition reconsider its stance.
“You cannot shut the door to political dialogue in a country like ours; to do otherwise is to open the door to serious confrontations. When you shut the door to dialogue, it means that I don’t want anything to do with you and I don’t want anything to do with your supporters,” the Labour Minister said.
The President has indicated that he will call elections if talks with the Opposition fail.
Meanwhile, he believes that the political parties – A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (AFC) – should form a coalition.
“AFC should have bite the bullet and come in dialogue and seriously indicate to the nation that they’re serious of the issue of shared governance and join forces with the APNU before they go into any No Confidence and to say to the nation that ‘we’re moving this no confidence…and we’re coming to the electorate if the PPP don’t agree to shared governance, we’re going to set the example and we’re gonna go to shared governance’; and that would have made a difference to this country. It would have given the people hope,” Dr Gopaul said.
While the APNU is opened to joining forces with the AFC, the minority Party is not too inclined.
racks so its true not propaganda when KN print and post that the chinese exploiting guyanese who busting their backs working for a chinese logging co for 500 gy$$ per day?
As the Jamaicans have a saying “you must be born back ah cow” this man done lost his dog on mind to suggest AFC join APNU to contest the upcoming election, if that’s your strategy to link AFC with PNC to scare the Indian voters away then you lie, the greatest threat to the PPP is the AFC, Guyanese will forever vote along racial line but with a multi ethnic party like the AFC, the PPP have to worry about their base, the Indian strong hold “ahweee bai Naga get them by them b@lls “!
The PPP had all the time to talk now they are sing a different song. What happen to the bills the president have to sign? He have to understand he have a minority government and he have to come clean.
What the PPP is now saying is the majority of elected in parliament are miss informing the people and minority PPP is the smart ones and people should believe them.
Bob Marley said ” You fool some on the people some of the time not all the people all the time” So in these modern days people are smarter.
The sugar industry is short of labour because our young people is now thinking different.
Back in the days the Labourers in the sugar industry use to believe everything the PPP said. Wake up Donald and Boys.
And the DONKEY/DANKEY aka JACKASS award of the week goes to Dr Ganda Gopass, for suggesting the AFC join force with the APNU to contest the upcoming election, Dr Ganda Gopass you’re the clear winner of the DANKEY of the week award eeh ha eeh ha!
It’s a shame that this combined opposition is so power hungry.
This is the time for negotiations however these two oppositions will shut the door again. The president has made the right decision by prorogueing parliament.
At the end of the day he is the elected President not Granger, Naga nor Ramjattan.
Gopaul is just being an apologist. Additionally, he just embarrassed the President by being part of the NBS fiasco. My advise to the President is to rid himself of Gopaul, Nadalall, Sattur and other jokers who are an embarrassment to the PPP.
Emile if what you said is true then how come the ppp dictator allowed pnc to rule it and dictate to it for 28YRS?
See how silly yall does sound?
George, talks with the PPP was always useless. Check your recent history with Hoyte, Corbin, Granger, the Hermandston Accord.
To thine ownself, be true!!
So ‘they ‘ will be better educated by misinformation and brainwashed by a daily diet of Pro-Govt …NCN, Chronicle, GTimes, Mirror…all PPP Propaganda.
The President is literally begging the the opposition to talk. Please guys can we just talk. Put everything aside man and lets talk for the good of the nation.
Here is an opposition who can’t see any good in the President’s call except their narrow political agendas. This is the same group whether its APNU, PNC or whatever it chooses to call itself, want “shared governance”. This was Robert Corbin’s mantra after he realized the PNC can never win an election in Guyana. With this kind of “no talk” attitude, do you think these people are/were ever serious about “shared governance”. How do you want shared governance when you are showing the Guyanese people that you are not willing to talk with others who have a different opinion?? You are a bunch of hypocrites.
The truth of the matter is, you just want power through the back door. Burnham, with the help of the west, seized power in Guyana when he joined forces with the UF and dislodged the PPP. The union did not last long, Burnham ungratefully (no surprise) kicked Peter D’aguiar out and grabbed on to power through rigged elections for almost 3 decades. At the end of this disaster Guyana had a GDP: Debt ratio of 700%.
The people of Guyana will not be hoodwinked with platitudes from Roopnarine, Ramjattan, Nagamootoo and others who on the political platform to fight personal battles and vendettas. These are the people who are likely to sell their sick souls (Roopnarine already did) to the PNC and bring disaster to the people of Guyana.
yeah chester the president must get rid of all members of ppp and hire all pnc opposition people and people like you..you forget chester had to run from buxton when pnc was in their criminal madness applyin slo fiah and mo fiah to make government ungovernable.
The PPP is, by nature, dictatorial, which explains why Ramotar did not have do or say anything after prorogation to show he is a dictator. All he simply had to do was seek refuge in the shell of ‘prorogation’, which really was Burnham’s go-to card if Parliament had vote for his removal.
All this foolish talk about prorogation being used to get the Opposition to talk with government is just that: foolish! The government had Parliament as the right place for talks but chose to shut it down. Also, any talks outside Parliament will not legally binding, which is what dictators prefer.
As for Gopaul’s suggestion of AFC and APNU forming a coalition before General Elections, that was such a cheap political trick to force the AFC to appear as being in bed with the PNC. Then the PPP can use it to encourage all Indians who voted AFC in 2011 to return to the PPP, because a vote for the AFC would be a vote for the PNC. Failed try, Gopaul!
The AFC is right to retain its independence and is determined to continue taking the fight to the corrupt and dictatorial PPP. Only the PNC can save the PPP from the AFC, as we have seen with the PPPs use of the PNC Constitution, which the PNC had a chance to repeal in 1999, but chose to keep with inconsequential reforms.
Good afternoon, Dr,Gopaul, I must first say that I don,t think that you are specking from the heart and is people like you the president need to get raid of , because if you are a minister and that,s the way you are thinking , the president need to get raid of you , because all you are doing is kissing up to him.and givivg him the wrong advise, you all have to remember that it,s one people one nation one destiny, and unless you get that right. Guyana wil remain in the state it is in , because God says for the lack of wisdom my people perish, and if you are going to advise the president you need to be honest with him let him know the truth about the country, and the people he was chosen to serve, instead you are going to do damage contole with a mouthful of lies, what do you think is giong to happend , the other side don,t have time with you because all you are doing is trying to sugar coat the situation, when the truth of the matter is you are making it worst for the president.you see you have to earn you money now and try and keep your job , but if you want to do your job do it with dignity and be honest put politics aside and do what is right for once, and that gose to all the minister the least you all can do is be honest with the president, and let him know how bad the country really is, I hope that all of you can still fine your soul.And remember why you had wanted to be in politics in the first place, to serve.
I totally agree with the Minister.
Canada prorogued, this is nothing new.
These fools needed to be educated and can use the time off instead of being fed misinformation and brainwashed by KN News.