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Tripartite talks get underway

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Written by Kwesi Isles



Friday, 27 January 2012 19:11



FLASHBACK: December 1, first tripartite meeting under President Ramotar

Tripartite talks between the parliamentary political parties got underway on Friday with discussions centred on how the arrangement will proceed, Leader of the Opposition David Granger says.

Representatives from the APNU, PPP/C and AFC met for about two hours at the Office of the President and upon emerging the opposition parties indicated that they have agreed to meet again on Monday.

“We were discussing the structure of the relationship, the process, so nothing was agreed this afternoon really. I think on Monday a communiqué … will be issued,” APNU chairman Granger said in an invited comment to reporters.

He described the meeting as cordial while stating that there was a “degree of agreement.”

“We are all concerned that the issues raised are urgent and that is why we don’t want to compromise the discussion by running to the press, there’s no complaint,” Granger said.

The PPP was represented by President Donald Ramotar, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon and Governance Advisor Gail Teixeira while Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine and Deborah Backer filled out the APNU team. AFC was represented by party chairman Khemraj Ramjattan and executive members Gerhard Ramsaroop, Clayton Hall and Cathy Hughes.

AFC Leader Raphael Trotman, who was recently elected Speaker of the National Assembly, has recused himself from the talks.

‘I don’t believe I should be participating in the tripartite dialogue given my position as Speaker. Many of the issues to be discussed are likely to be debated in the Assembly and so I need to be external to this discussion and to wish the process well and that it is successful,” he told Demerara Waves Online News (www.demwaves.com) Friday.

The AFC has been eager to get down to talks on the budget which should be one of the first tests for the tripartite arrangement. The opposition parties with a one-seat majority in the National Assembly have been clamouring for a greater say in its crafting but President Ramotar seems disinclined to include them beyond consultations. However, with just a simple majority needed to pass or reject the budget, some conciliatory position is expected out of the talks.

Granger, meanwhile, has said the APNU’s interests include the improvement of public financial management, constitutional reform and the strengthening of public institutions.
quote:
AFC was represented by party chairman Khemraj Ramjattan and executive members Gerhard Ramsaroop, Clayton Hall and Cathy Hughes.



I am certain they will act in the best of the people and promote unity.
Mitwah

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