Dear Editor,
A quick perusal of the core definition of parliamentary sectoral committees – of which many exist in countries that were once colonies – shows it is to help the legislature manage its workloads and hold the government accountable in specific policy areas. In Guyana today, the twin concerns of the legislature in a counterbalancing role should be accountability and transparency in decision-making and spending.
That’s not happening because of the largely intact PNC Constitution and system of governance that made that party paramount over all areas of government, including the executive, judicial and legislative branches. As a result, the role of parliamentary sectoral committees was reduced to mere formalities to give the impression of functionality. Both the PNC Constitution and system of government are what the PPP inherited and continues to exploit maximally for its own partisan benefit. Nothing has changed under the PPP in terms of making parliamentary sectoral committees function as they should in principle.
Nevertheless, with the arrival of WIN on the political landscape in September 2025, thanks to 109,075 voters who saw the PPP and PNC and as representing the status quo that needs to be changed so all Guyanese can benefit from the government and all the resources instead of a chosen few and support bases, Guyanese saw a glimmer of hope to finally break the decades-old shackles of the PPP versus PNC sham. Parliamentary sectoral committees, like the desperately needed Public Accounts Committee, must do their jobs at a time when billions in oil cash are pouring in and quickly flushing out in the name of development and emergency services with no PAC findings on how monies are actually being spent.
Just to be clear, the 109,075 WIN voters were aware of the U.S.’ allegations and sanctions against Azruddin Mohamed and his father before the 2025 elections, and they still voted for WIN. The same was true of voters who were aware of the 19-count indictments against Irfaan Ali before the 2020 elections or aware of SOCU’s 2019 probe into Bharrat Jagdeo’s role in the Pradoville II land development scheme for which he chose to claim presidential immunity than fight in court, and they still voted PPP.
After Jagdeo’s role with his friend and tenant, Su, was revealed in awarding of government contracts for Chinese companies, as per Vice Media revelations in February 2022, voters still showed up and voted the PPP back into power with an additional 4 parliamentary seats in 2025. The only difference between Azruddin Mohamed, on one end of the political spectrum, and Bharrat Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali, on the other end, is the United States. Take the U.S. out of the equation and we have a leveled playing field on which PPP network members in Guyana run trouble-free with no sanctions, indictments or extradition requests, or trials.
In the last three years, the U.S. government basically did the Guyana government’s job, but still refuses to share incriminating information with Guyana while claiming the Mohameds were facilitated by government officials. Fellow Guyanese, Bharrat, Irfaan and the PPP have no edge over Azruddin and WIN when it comes to known or reported shenanigans.
The foregoing had to be recapped to establish the basis for understanding what we read in yesterday’s and are reading in today’s news coverage of WINs refusal to attend the President’s invitation to meet parliamentary sectoral committees on Foreign Affairs, and on Economic Services. While APNU’s gripe is about a lack of agenda items, WIN’s gripe is the government’s ill-treatment of the Leader of WIN and the major parliamentary Opposition.
I blogged yesterday and repeat today: parliamentary sectoral committees are constitutionally established as part of taxpayer-funded roles to help the legislature do its job and to help hold the government accountable. If the President invites members of these two committees to two separate meetings, the Opposition members on these committees have no political weight via votes to sway the President, but they are duty-bound to show up as the eyes, ears and voices of those who voted for said members. In the truest sense, MPs don’t merely represent a party based on a List System, but the voters.
One can only hope the Opposition’s collective boycott represents some type of real-time, unknown outlier, but, for the sake of voters, these taxpayer-funded Opposition members should show up, listen, ask questions, make suggestions or proposals, gather information, and report back to the people on what transpired from their perspective because the government most certainly will put out press releases from its perspective.
For the Opposition, it’s all about prioritizing the people’s interests over partisan interests and personal feelings. Know when to hold and when to fold. With the Opposition a confirmed no-show yesterday and likely today, the people will only know or read/hear the government’s side of the President’s remarks. The PPP wins, while the Opposition and its supporters lose.
Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin
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