Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo says that should the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) secure a win at the March 2, 2020 polls, it will have to extend an olive branch to whichever party is in the opposition for the sake of advancing the oil and gas sector.
The PPP/C leader made this statement during the PPP/C’s launch of its manifesto yesterday at Freedom House, Robb Street.
Jagdeo recognized that the effective managing of the sector will need the input from all members and factions of society. He said that the party, should it emerge victorious, will ensure that the views of the opposition are taken into consideration.
“Government and opposition have to have the same interest – which is protecting our patrimony. And we intend to work as far as possible when we are in government to ensure that the opposition’s views are part of a national position. And that even they help to implement that national policy,” he said.
Further to this, Jagdeo said that this approach of “opening the sector” will also see participation from civil society, which will be part of the monitoring of compliance on the transparency side of the sector. In summary, Jagdeo said that provisions will be made to allow civil society to keep an eye on the government to ensure that the sector does not fall victim to corruption.
“Civil society will have a crucial role to play in ensuring that we are faithfully compiling with all of the transparency measures that we [would] set in place to avoid the resources being squandered,” he said.
As a means of fostering greater relationships with civil society, Jagdeo said that there will be more partnerships between that faction and the government.
