Recently the 10^th Parliament of Guyana was convened, creating political history with the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker going solidly to the opposition parties. Both AFC and APNU must be proud of their leaders for demonstrating their ability to compromise and work together for the greater good of Guyana. This has been further amplified this past week with the unanimous election of APNU’s presidential candidate, Mr. David Granger as leader of the opposition.

With the combined opposition firmly in control of the House of Assembly, there could not be a more suitable individual to take up this most important mantle of Opposition Leader. Mr. Granger is now in an excellent position to demonstrate to the Guyanese people that he has all that is needed to be a political leader.

Even though there was an ‘opposition’ of sorts in Guyana during the last 20 years of PPP rule, one can argue that its presence has been largely absent from significant issues affecting Guyanese, especially when one looks at the lawlessness that passed for governance under President Jagdeo. Most importantly, the Leader of the Opposition must be seen and known as the leader of the opposition, not by only providing rhetorical retort, but by meaningful action/s strategically applied to bring the desired attention and pressure to issues that impact Guyana.

In the same way, some commentators have implored Mr. Ramotar to distance himself from the politics of his predecessor; Mr. Granger must emerge from the terrifyingly lazy shadow of Mr. Robert Corbin who is the former Opposition Leader.

Many argue that Corbin might have squandered his opportunities as Leader of the Opposition through his apparent laissez-faire attitude towards Guyanese politics. This kind of behaviour is something that Granger cannot afford to embrace. Granger must provide the thousands of opposition supporters, who on November 28, 2011 indicated that they are fed up with the PPP circus, with a potent mix of strategic vision and innovative actions as the opposition-led House reigns in the PPP excesses. APNU along with the AFC must ensure that they reintroduce accountability to the Government.

There is a lot of work to be done in Parliament particularly when it comes to the eradication of corruption from all sections of government. Also a formidable task waits in the form of a forensic auditing of the Consolidated Fund. These and a number other major initiatives must be proposed by the Opposition in streamlining governance.

The government knows that there is change in the air. Conspiracy theorists might have looked on in amusement at the way poor Fip took the fall for the Amalia Falls Road Project. Even though the terrible political spin used to explain to Guyanese that the withdrawal of the Contract was not done in the name of political expediency, but rather because of fresh information of incompetence, many still think that perhaps it was done to save face. Who knows what could be uncovered should a thorough investigation into the awarding of that particular contract be conducted.

Mr. David Granger and the combined opposition have an excellent chance to prove to Guyanese that they are ready to lead this nation. As Leader of the Opposition, Granger must use his office to rigorously challenge that which he feels is inimical to the development of Guyana. He must also lead on proposing tangible political initiatives that can bring about economic stability, security, education and social reform, along with numerous legislative reforms that together can provide a bright and prosperous future for all Guyanese.