Yesterday at the BTIA bi-annual general meeting, Mark Espat let off with a resounding boom shot, challenging his own government to embrace progressive reforms from campaign financing restrictions, to safeguarding Social Security funds. We're not sure how it was received within the PUP where Espat's reform bent has a polarizing Effect, but the UDP this morning issued a release to call it flat out grandstanding with, "absolutely no chance of any concrete action."
The release says the Opposition is perplexed by Espat's speech, because two of the proposals are against the PUP's position, and another, claims the release, is stolen from the UDP. But the party says what it finds most puzzling is Espat's attempt to distance himself from the collective responsibility of all PUP Ministers for the violations of the Finance and Audit Act. With that, the release concludes that, "Espat's solo flight is...more evidence of the continuing instability of the government and the Prime Minister's failure to maintain any...discipline over his ministers."
For his part, Espat has said that he and his colleague, minister Cordel Hyde with take his 10 reform proposals to Cabinet, and, if necessary, table it at the House of Representatives.
