Peeping Tom - MALIGNANT GOVERNANCE

Peeping Tom – MALIGNANT GOVERNANCE

Jul 20, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

There are grave political implications arising out of the recent assault on press freedom. While I expect an early resolution to this problem, I am deeply concerned that the Gordon Moseley issue is but a mere symptom of a decayed and malignant form of governance.

It is this causal factor which I wish to address today.
Relations between the media and the government have nose-dived during this the final term of the Jagdeo presidency.

These relations have never been good but have now completely turned sour. It is unfortunate that this should be happening under the PPP since that party was always known when it was in opposition for defending press freedom and had itself suffered all manner of injustices including a denial of a trade licence to import newsprint. The deeper implication here is that the Gordon Moseley incident will seriously tarnish the reputation of the PPP when it comes to press freedom.

The second implication concerns the effects on term-limits of the Presidency. I believe what we are witnessing in Guyana are some of the negatives associated with the imposition of term limits, something that I had warned against. One of the criticisms of term limits has been the tendency of it to promote a lack of political accountability.

There has always been the risk that a leader in his final term is likely to be less concerned as before about what people feel about his or her actions because that leader knows that he or she does not have to face the electorate for re-election.

I urge therefore that there be a serious debate in Guyana about constitutional term limits. Given some of the things that have happened after the 2006 elections, we need to ask ourselves whether term limits are helpful to the promotion of good governance. The third implication has to do with the People’s Progressive Party.

The PPP had in the 1997 elections come up with the ‘A’ team formula which blended youth with experience. Bharrat Jagdeo, who was part of the three-member ‘A’ team, was not expected to assume the presidency.

However, he was by a stroke of fortune elevated to the Presidency, a position which I do not feel he was quite prepared for.

His youthfulness, however, was appealing and this allowed him to become highly popular. There can be no denying this fact. However, what has always been evident was the lack of political maturity, something that comes with being involved in politics. I think the Chinese understand the need for political experience and maturity better than most.

Giving a young person a chance to show what they can do has, however, always been something that is good, but pushing someone too early does not always work out as planned. I believe when the PPP made its experiment with a youthful President, it worked well initially.

However, it is now clear that this experiment has become a disaster. Investment in youthful leadership is now likely to be frowned upon since the Jagdeo presidency has also tarnished that appeal. The PPP is now more likely to go for a mature and experienced presidential candidate for the next elections, given what they have seen happen since 1999.

The final implication is, I believe, more ominous. I think it will be hard even for the collective opposition to defeat the PPP in the 2011 elections. The PPP is good at elections. They are seasoned in this type of activity.

They have always had excellent machinery on the ground and are able to be in touch with their supporters through their vastly superior party networks.

The level of mobilization within the PPP reminds me of effectiveness of the networks Mao Tse-tung had during his struggle for the liberation of his country from the Japanese and from the Nationalist Forces. Mao knew things about the government even before their leader.

My sense is that the PPP is becoming highly unpopular even within its own constituencies. While they may not admit it publicly, there are many supporters of the ruling party who are deeply concerned about what has taken place since 2006. They are not at all happy and they will become unhappier when they see what is taking place today.

The PPP may not lose the elections but with its growing unpopularity, it may not after the next elections have a majority in Parliament. And this is something that can cause the PPP to lose political power once ad for all.