AN EMINMENT CITIZENS GROUP

Jan 06, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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The PNCR is no longer in the streets creating havoc. There is no longer a tempestuous political climate with power-hungry opposition supporters claiming, quite falsely, that their votes were stolen.
The crime wave has abated, and therefore there is no need for the basis for sustaining the view that the crime is being used as a political weapon.
There has been relative stability since the 2006 elections. The threat of the Buxton/Agricola gang has been neutralized.
Against this backdrop, one anticipates that the Government would be more willing to be receptive to the concerns of the opposition and civil society. Unfortunately, this is not happening; and this can only be attributed to the type of leadership that is being provided.
There have been repeated statements from the President of Guyana, over the years, indicating his willingness to work with major stakeholders for the benefit of Guyana. On more than one occasion, the Government said it was extending its hand to the opposition. These have, however, only been limited to talk; the actions are written in a different language.
Following his last visit here, former US President Jimmy Carter expressed skepticism about the ruling party’s willingness to collaborate with the main opposition. I believe that this frustration inevitably led to the downsizing of the Carter Center’s presence in Guyana, and the position it took that it had other priorities in other parts of the world and thus would have only a small observer team for the last elections.
Even if the Government wishes to limit political cooperation between itself to legislative reform, its record in this regard is appalling. On many occasions within the National Assembly, when the opposition had suggested reasonable amendments, the Government had ignored these amendments.
No one is asking the Government to compromise on every piece of legislation, but it does make for confidence-building when, in a viciously divided society as ours, the public sees legislation that is supported by all sides of the House.
All blame must, however, not be placed at the feet of the Government. On many occasions, the opposition has offered infantile arguments against legislative reforms. If it wishes to be taken seriously, the opposition must be more responsible and mature within the National Assembly.
It is now a New Year, and the President has once again expressed a willingness to work with the opposition for the good of Guyana. The General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, someone who is tipped to become the PPP’s next presidential candidate, has said that he would like to see greater political cooperation in the New Year. The main opposition is saying that it would like to see greater shared governance.
We need to not leave these commitments to fade away as mere wishes. We need now, at this time, to capitalise on the political goodwill that has been created through the many New Year wishes. We need to find a middle ground that can be the basis for political cooperation.
One is tempted to suggest that this basis should be issue-based, and that the floods could form one area that can be used to promote political cooperation.
However, someone has to take the initiative, and that someone is not likely to come from either the opposition or the Government.
How then do we move forward, when we have a Government that only gives lip service to political cooperation and a citizenry which is keen to see greater cooperation between the Government and civil society?
Given our history and the record of political cooperation — both in the past and of recent — it seems unlikely that there is going to be any confidence in any process initiated by the Government or the opposition. This is why there is a need for such a process to be initiated within the wider civil society arena.
A useful suggestion is for an eminent citizens group, to be established by civil society, which would seek to promote the sort of cooperation between the Government, the political parties and civil society. I believe that within our society there are persons who are capable of enjoying the confidence of the Government, opposition and civil society. I believe that there are persons who are genuinely interested in moving this country forward, and who would be willing to come forward to ensure this is done.
I am therefore proposing a small, unwieldy group of eminent persons in our society, who would get together and seek to bring Government, our political parties and civil society closer together, so that political consensus can be the norm rather than the exception.
If this simple step of assembling such a grouping proves to be impossible, then I would have to admit that change is going to be much more problematic.

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