Georgetown,
GINA , April 6, 2003
I note on article on Pg. 3 of the Sunday Stabroek
News of April 6, 2003 in which the views of some IMF/World bank
economists were summarized. I read these views with both a feeling
of encouragement and dismay.
I was encouraged because, by and large, these
views are consistent with the views of the Guyana Government and
the governing political party, the PPP/C. I was dismayed because
the Team apparently ignored progress made in the directions they
recommended and have also failed to give recognition, if not commendation
to Government, for the many efforts of the Government to give
effect to these views.
I know that senior officials of both the IMF
and the World Bank have observed and are themselves encouraged
by the moves of the Guyana Government to institutionalize the
principles of inclusive governance in Guyana. I am certain that
they, like many of us, would want to see more rapid progress in
the concretization of the provisions already agreed to by all
stakeholders and to see, as the President has outlined, other
built in layers to provide opportunities for inclusive governance.
It is not my intention to address all the points raised in their
paper, but the writers were obviously poorly informed or dishonest
in presenting their perspective of “shared governance”
in Guyana. Guyana’s efforts in the last decade to build
a democratic society should not be trivialized and its valiant
attempts to develop an inclusive democracy, especially in the
last five years, should be given recognition. There is room for
acceleration and all of us should work towards this goal.
Too many of us discount Guyana’s “lost”
decades of the 1970s and 1980s in regards to the severe erosion
of democratic processes in Guyana. The PPP/C Government has been
able to build on the start that was provided through the restoration
of free and fair elections in Guyana in 1992. Elections, foundations
on which democratic governance are built, have been held in 1997,
1994 and 2001, all of which have been declared to be free and
fair by reputable observers from local and international organizations
and from international Governments. These elections were in stark
contrast to elections prior to 1992, which were all declared by
reputable observers to be blatantly rigged. The PPP/C Government
deserves commendation for both sustaining and enhancing democratic
processes in Guyana.
The institutions and processes that guarantee
freedom and democracy and that enhance transparency and inclusive
governance have not all matured and many more mechanisms need
to be considered to make them effective. But in each case, our
institutions and processes have made remarkable progress to erase
the tradition of non-democratic practices characteristic of the
pre-1992 period. If we are going to be effective players in improving
and enhancing the path towards an ideal governance model, we must
all be prepared to acknowledge the improvement of Guyana’s
governance model and accept that departures from the dictatorial
traditions of the pre-1992 era could only result from a process
which takes time. Acknowledgement of the progress made in terms
of democratic processes and inclusiveness is not in any way ignoring
the fact that other layers of democratic processes and inclusiveness
are certainly needed.
One of the great challenges any society confronts
as it seeks to institutionalize good, democratic and inclusive
governance is to develop a sense of responsibility and good faith
among those who are natural competitors to play effective roles
in whatever the model of inclusive governance. The most important
aspect of an inclusive governance model is that all stakeholders
are prepared to assume trusting and responsible roles, including
possessing the important capacity to make necessary concessions
for the welfare of the country and its citizens. This is the mistake
we always make because few of us give recognition to the important
caveat that it is people, not just processes, that make a model
work. Guyana suffers from the fact that the PNC, either in Government
between 1964 to 1992 or as Opposition Party since 1992, finds
it difficult to work as a team and to understand that it cannot
presume that its views are the only correct ones.
The government embraces the “shared governance”
position that the IMF and World Bank personnel discusses and the
government has made moves to institutionalize them. Indeed, the
model in Guyana is even more advanced than the Barbadian model,
although in Barbados it works better for the time being. It works
better in Barbados because the various stakeholders behave responsibly
and because the stakeholders have developed experience in working
together in a “trusting” relationship.
Contrary to the impression created by the paper
from the IMF/World Bank personnel, Guyana leads the region in
terms of avenues for inclusiveness. The major problem is that
these avenues remain unexplored. The PPP/C Government is not only
committed to inclusive governance, but is proud of its leading
role in promoting and implementing inclusive governance in Guyana.
The prerequisite to building an inclusive society
is the willingness of all to accept free and fair elections as
a foundation for a free, democratic and inclusive society. It
would be hypocritical of stakeholders if they were not forthright
in defending this principle. Civic society and international organizations
must be unequivocal in their stance on this issue and must demonstrate
that they remain unimpressed by political parties that refuse
to play by rules endorsed by all. Too many persons and organizations
have soft peddle the unreasonable position of the PNC of not accepting
election results simply because it reflects rejection by the electorate.
Article 13 of the Reformed Constitution establishes the principle
of inclusive governance that all stakeholders subscribed to through
the extensive constitution reform consultations between 1994 and
2000. This Article establishes inclusive governance whereby Government
creates space for the participation of non-political stakeholders
in the governance and development of Guyana as one of the pillars
upon which inclusive governance would be built. Together with
the provisions for increased participation of the members of Parliament
on both sides of the House, Article 13 and related Articles and
other mechanisms established by the Government provide Guyana
with quite substantial avenues for the creation of a true and
effective inclusive society. Guyana is far ahead in this regard
than Barbados and other CARICOM countries.
The fact is that even before the Constitutional
Reforms, the PPP/C has been building this inclusive society. The
following are some of the actions or provisions that have contributed
to an inclusive society. These actions give meaning to Article
13 in order to build an inclusive society.
But as the President stated in the paper
“Towards Greater Inclusive Governance he presented on February
8th, other layers of inclusiveness must be developed if Guyana
is to craft ultimately the ideal inclusive democratic governance
model we all seem to embrace today.
1). Abandonment of the Party Paramouncy principle:
The PPP/C and the Government that it has formed are separate entities
and the Government is allowed to function without the interference
of the PPP/C.
2). Local Government permits for a certain degree of inclusive
governance – the Establishment of a Local Government Commission:
Indeed, after the 2001 elections, the Governing Party controls
the RDCs of five regions (Regions 1,2,3,5 and 6), while the main
Opposition Party controls two RDCs (Regions 4 and 10) and the
RDCs of three regions (Regions 7,8 and 9) are controlled through
coalitions between the PNC and GAP/WPA. The opposition controls
the two main municipalities, Georgetown and New Amsterdam. Strong
local government provides the basis for community-led development
and at the community level could promote community interest rather
than political loyalty. The work of the Local Government Committee
established through the dialogue process must be allowed to continue
and the establishment of a Local Government Commission as mandated
by the Constitution should be urgently pursued. More effective
local government is one of the most effective strategy to concretize
“shared” governance.
3). Governance through independent autonomous technical and service
agencies: These agencies include the Auditor General’s Office,
the Elections Commission, the Police Service Commissions, the
Teachers Service Commission, the Judicial Service Commission,
the GPHC, the Supreme Court, the University of Guyana and the
Ombudsman Office. The above agencies together with the many Boards
constitute an effective avenue for promoting inclusive governance.
Prior to 1992, there was little chance of accomplishing this because
the commissions and boards were put together within the concept
of party paramountcy. In terms of the service commissions and
other independent agencies provided for in the constitution (for
example the various Human Rights Commissions), Guyana has considerable
opportunities to exercise the principles of shared governance
and inclusiveness addressed in Article 13 of the Constitution.
There are various formulations in place for the appointments of
the various commissions and boards. An examination of the processes
involve in the appointments of persons to sit on commissions and
board would reveal the vast extent of the involvement of broad-based
stakeholders and demonstrates how far Guyana has traverse the
path towards greater inclusiveness in our governance model. No
doubt as time elapses, modification and fine-tuning would lead
to greater consolidation of these processes.
4). Establishing Consultations as a Statutory Exercise: Provisions
for consultations with the Opposition and with civic society have
been enshrined in the reformed constitution. The new constitution
makes provision for Parliament to establish laws that define and
provides guidelines for consultations. The guidelines are to become
law only with a two-third majority. No constitution in the Region
has this provision. In addition, the constitution of Guyana is
replete with examples of appointments and actions made or taken
by the President that are only possible after meaningful consultations
with the Leader of the Opposition. Are these not concrete examples
of shared governance?
5). Promoting Dialogue: In terms of consultation, the political
process of dialogue between the President and the Leader of the
Opposition represents another avenue for inclusiveness. Perhaps,
such dialogue could be extended to include Leaders of other political
parties in Parliament.
6). Encouraging civic society/political parties collaboration:
The dialogue led to the establishment of several committees made
up of political, civic society and technical representatives.
This proved to be an effective model for inclusiveness.
7). Creating Room for NGOs: Guyana has taken important steps to
establish meaningful roles for NGOs and civic society. NGOs and
civic society have made important strides in carving out a role
in Guyanese society during the last decade. An example can be
seen by examining the local subvention budget, which has grown
several fold over the last decade. The 2003 budget estimates show
that the subvention to local agencies and NGOs amount to approximately
$5B or approximately 8% of the non-interest government expenditure.
No Government in CARICOM could match this level of non-government
participation in the execution of publicly funded programs.
8).Reducing the Powers of the Presidency: The reformed constitution
addresses the enormous powers of the Presidency and considerably
diminishes these powers. It is important to recognize the strength
of these provisions: the process does not only seek to strengthen
the participation of the Opposition in Parliament, but also extends
shared governance to civic society in that there are attempts
to extend the independence of the service commissions while also
giving them greater powers in appointments.
9).New Constitutional Commissions Creates Room for Civil Society
Participation: Establishment of Human Rights and other commissions,
including the Commissions for Indigenous People, Women and Gender,
Children, Ethnic Relations, and the Procurement Commissions would
expand the opportunities for civil society to participate in the
governance process. The provisions guiding the compositions of
these commissions were crafted by all political parties to ensure
independence and to ensure that governance is extended far beyond
just government or parliament or political parties.
10).Establishment of Standing Committee on Constitutional Reform:
This would be a Standing Commission of Parliament that invites
civil society as members. This Commission would be mandated to
continuously add layers for shared governance that promotes inclusivity.
11).Enhancing the Role of Parliament: Once all the changes agreed
to are implemented, Guyana’s Parliament would be the most
advanced in terms of a “shared” governance model than
any in the Caribbean, including being far more advanced than the
barbadian Legislature.
It is important to recognize the changes that have
been made pertaining to Parliament in the efforts to make the
legislative body more meaningful in the context of shared governance:
(a).The Public Accounts Committee
(PAC) has been able to examine the auditor general’s report
up to the end of 2000 and is actively considering the 2001 report,
making Guyana the most up-to-date country in this respect within
CARICOM.
(b).The function of the PAC has been extended
and it now has responsibility for the Auditor General’s
Office.
(c).The Constitution makes provision for the
establishment of various human rights commissions and commissions
that add to financial and procurement accountability. The Human
Rights Commission that oversees Commissions for Indigenous Peoples,
Children, Women and Gender and Ethnic Rights not only create avenues
for shared political responsibility in terms of appointments,
but also expand the inclusiveness principle by extending governance
to civic society.
(d).Parliament is intended to have a Standing
Committee on Appointments to consider appointment matters. This
includes making nominations for the various service commissions
and also the various human rights commission. While there were
much haggling and the PNC refused to come to Parliament to permit
the establishment, it should be very encouraging that the Committee
was appointed on April 2 with the full blessing of the PNC.
(e).The provisions to establish Standing Sector
Committees for National Security, Natural Resources, Social Sector
Development and Foreign Affairs in Parliament provide enormous
avenues for shared responsibility. Indications are that these
committees should be in place within the next few weeks.
(f).The implementation of the Parliamentary Management
Committee principle would move Guyana ahead of all the CARICOM
countries and enhance inclusive governance.
(g).Each Region now has specific persons representing
them in Parliament. The concept of geographical representation
has been improved since the 2001 election and further consideration
for enhancement is to be considered for future general elections.
(h).Political parties must now ensure that 33%
of their candidates for political elections are women candidates.
The result is that women now represent 31% of the elected representatives
in Parliament in Guyana, more than all countries in the Caribbean
and among the top 20 in the world.
(i).Greater use has been made of special select
committees during the last ten years. For example, special select
committees improved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill,
the Pesticide Bill and the Amendment for the Medical Practitioners
Act.
(j).Enhanced use of members’ day whereby
opposition members could ask questions, make statements and move
motions have recently been pursued with greater commitment. The
PNC used this provision effectively on February 19th when the
new Leader of the PNC introduced a motion on Members’ day
in Parliament. Mrs. Sheila Holder has sent dozens of questions
to cabinet Members for answers.
(k).There is provision for a Parliamentary Standing
Committee for Constitutional Reform.
12. The PPP/C has offered Shadow Minister status to the opposition:
The parliamentary mechanism of shadow ministers is an effective
way of consultation and inclusiveness by extending dialogue to
Ministers and their counterparts in the opposition.
13. The President’s Youth Initiative: Young people banding
themselves together for positive community activities could be
a powerful force for inclusiveness.
14. Building a Free and Independent Press: An important part of
an inclusive society is a free, but responsible press. No one
can dispute that Guyana has one of the freest press in the hemisphere.
The Media Committee made up of political and civil society members
have made recommendations that the Government is ready to implement
in order to enhance the role of the press.
15. The National Development Strategy: The National Development
Strategy was the result of work by technical persons across the
political and civil society spectrum.
16. The National Poverty Reduction Strategy: This was another
exercise conducted by persons across the political and civil society
spectrum.
Guyana has been innovative and bold in taking
many steps to enhance inclusiveness. The overt effort of the PNC
to obtain power and their flirtations with criminal elements and
dishonest political commentators stand in the way of shared inclusive
governance. The cold, hard facts stare at us. Let each one of
us take a step back and assess the truth.
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
April 6, 2003
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