A REFRESHING DEVELOPMENT

Nov 02, 2008 Editorial

Over the past few sessions of the National Assembly, the opposition parties in Guyana have taken certain principled stands on issues of concern to the Guyanese people.

They tabled a motion, which was subsequently defeated, on the allegation of torture against the Joint Services; they have railed against what they perceive as the unconstitutional amendments to the law; they have been harsh in their condemnation of the wiretapping legislation which was introduced; and principled in their walkout of the National Assembly over what they saw as an abuse by the Government on Members’ Day.

This is the sort of vigorous and laudable Parliamentary advocacy that is very much needed in Guyana. The quality of the representation and the arguments from the opposing benches have been extremely refreshing over the past few weeks, and this augurs well for the coming sessions.

The opposition Members of Parliament have stood up and, with great fervor, provided enlightened debate on matters of national importance, none more so than the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Robert Corbin, who made some excellent and thought provoking presentations in the National Assembly.

The presentation that really stood out above all was Mr. Corbin’s input into the debate on a Government motion applauding the work of the Joint Services in the capture of Rondell Rawlins.

Mr. Corbin, while supporting the efforts of the Joint Services, exposed the agenda of the Government and the possible reason behind the timing of that particular motion, intended as a counter strike to the PNCR’s own motion against the use of torture.

We look forward to the energetic and robust exchanges within our National Assembly. They represent an important development in the furthering of the norms of Parliamentary democracy, and have allowed for both sides to give their respective take of the various issues under discussion.

We are equally pleased by the level of preparedness which both sides of the House have brought to recent debates. It is clear that, despite the quite-often shuffling of sheets of paper, all the Members who spoke came adequately prepared, and this fact clearly enhanced the quality of the debates.

With still a great deal more issues to be tackled on the legislative agenda, it is hoped that the example of the past few weeks will encourage greater interest in the importance of the National Assembly.

The Government should be prepared to offer its defense of the laws and bills that it is tabling, while the opposition should offer alternatives.

In this way, the public is afforded the opportunity to judge the merits or demerits of any bill or legislation after considering what both sides have had to say.

The media have an important role to play in all of this. Improved coverage of the work of the National Assembly helps to enhance the accountability that should exist between citizens and their Parliamentarians; and even though Guyana does not have a constituency electoral system that holds members directly accountable to their constituents, the media, through their detailed reporting of the deliberations in Parliament, do provide a link between the people and Parliament.

More importantly, the coverage provided by the media allows the people to obtain information while at the same time gauge the effectiveness of their elected representatives.

Kaieteur News wishes to take the lead in encouraging greater coverage of the sittings of the National Assembly.

But we see an important role for radio to play, by relaying full coverage of the presentations within the National Assembly. It is important that the people see our Parliamentarians stoutly defending their positions.

It is important that our system of Parliamentary democracy work, because the alternatives to this system are too frightening to contemplate, and certainly will retard Guyana’s development.

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