Resolving differences in interest of country

guyana chronicle editorial

PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo has made two important announcements over the past weekend.

First, he announced that the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) have resolved their differences, presumably the differences surrounding the Cummingsburg Accord. Secondly, the PM announced that he was named as Head of a government’s team to negotiate a possible power sharing arrangement with the opposition- People’s Progressive Party. Significantly, these announcements came not via a press conference or a press release, but at a community outreach meeting in Whim, Corentyne Berbice. The meeting was addressed by, among others, the Prime Minister, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and newly appointed Region 6 Regional Executive Officer, Dr. Veerasammy Ramayya. Some of the government’s critics were quick to describe the PM’s revelation that there is resolution of the differences in the coalition as an admission that there were differences in the first place. Such a characterisation is simplistic. Every political entity has internal differences. The PPP, which is loudest in this regard, is a party that has enormous internal differences. But we do take the point that when those differences are manifested in a government, it naturally attracts much more attention. The current government is a coalition of several parties with varying ideological groundings. Hence, differences are to be expected. Coalitions by their very nature are full of differences. In our ethnically plural society, differences tend to take on an ethnic face. The differences in question have to do with the execution of an accord that the APNU and AFC signed before the elections. As we have editorialised before, such pre-election accords cannot be seen as static documents. Not all the dynamics of post-election situations can be foreseen before the election. The Cummingsburg Accord, therefore, was a guiding document which reflected a spirit and letter of cooperation.

The post-election dynamics necessitated a few alterations to the letter of the accord that caused some anxieties within the ranks of the AFC. But those anxieties were not transformed into open threats of dissolution of the Coalition. While the letter was altered, the spirit of the accord remained intact. The Opposition PPP and some commentators blew the situation out of proportion. It is for that reason that they cannot appreciate the announcement of a resolution. It is to be expected that if you are the Opposition party, any cracks in the armour of your opponents is fair game. The David Granger administration should therefore welcome the news that the partners in the Coalition have ironed out their differences, which is a clear indication that once again the leaders have managed to overcome challenges.

For Guyanese that is an important aspect of good governance-leaders must be able to put aside party dogma and strive for consensus in the interest of and service to the country as a whole. Were they to have failed to resolve their differences, the image of the country would have been seriously diminished and their promises of inclusivity and national unity would have fallen on deaf ears.