Ramkarran confident both sides will try hard for an agreed budget.
Written by Telesha Persaud
Tuesday, 17 January 2012 21:25
Chronicle
it’s in the interest of both sides of the House and of the country:
FORMER Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran, yesterday said that elections will have to be held again, once the Opposition does not support the government on a vital matter like the budget.
But he expressed confidence that both sides “will try very hard to have an agreed budget.”
“I don’t anticipate any difficulty. I’m confident that both the government and the Opposition want to have an agreed budget. It’s in the interest of both sides of the house and in the interest of the country,” Ramkarran told a news conference.
Former Speaker of the House, Ralph Ramkarran (centre) ; Minister Robert Persaud ( at right); and PPP media coordinator Romel Roopnarine.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic executive member chaired the conference at Freedom House, on Robb Street, along with minister of the newly formed Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy (MNRE) Robert Persaud, and media coordinator Romel Roopnarine.
Ramkarran said he saw no reason why the matters publicly expressed by the Opposition cannot in some way be addressed, and some of their proposals accommodated.
“I anticipate intense discussions. I believe that both sides are mature enough to understand the necessities of the times.”
He recalled that President Donald Ramotar has repeatedly announced that he is committed to working with the Opposition, and to this effect, commitment has already been expressed and a system has been agreed to for discussions on the budget.
“So these things are open to discussion, and I see no reason to be pessimistic and doubt that agreements will be arrived at in due course. Both parties have expressed commitment. The budget is yet to be discussed.”
Minister Persaud noted government’s expectations of a demonstration of interest and concern for the nation’s development. According to the Constitution, he said, if the budget is not ready by March 31, there could be severe difficulties. At this point, he said, no money for development and wages, among many other things, would be available.
“So everything comes to a standstill, and it would be callous for the Opposition, in any shape or form, to block development from taking place.
“I heard today one of the political parties threatening to bring down the government and to force us into elections. I don’t think that is helpful, and it is out of tune with what is required in this new dispensation; and we would expect that that level of maturity and sincerity to the development and unity of our country will prevail,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, Ramkarran reported that the Central Committee of the PPP/C met last Saturday, when the party examined developments at the local and international levels. This was the first such meeting following the 2011 Regional and General Elections.
At the international level, the party viewed with concern the tense situation in the Middle East, in particular events relating to Iran and Syria, and re-affirmed its principled stand for a climate of global peace and security.
The party also discussed the severe economic and financial crisis in a number of European countries, and its implications on the working people who are now forced to contend with falling income levels, unemployment, and cuts in social spending.
