Here is a civil society member speaking!

Jan 28, 2009 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Was President Jagdeo trying to be smart? Or did the words just randomly come out of his mouth? If your kid was hurt at school, should you not seek redress from a specific authority? Should you not call on the Ministry of Education or the Guyana Teachers’ Union or the Guyana Press Association? You cannot be serious if you avoid specifics. If you call upon the trade union community or the media fraternity, then no one will step forward for two reasons. First, they may feel it is not within their mandate to speak out because no direct reference was made to them. Secondly, one may wait for another person to come forward first before he/she acts. Such a situation may result in no one voicing a concern.
Was President Jagdeo trying to avoid embarrassment when he (either deliberately or carefully) refrained from being specific when he called upon civil society to denounce the Opposition’s decision not to submit statements of assets? Who or what is civil society? Which constituent member will have the courage to be the first to step forward and confront the President on his misplaced call?
We can enumerate some identifiable sections of civil society. The list includes the Private Sector Commission, Berbice/Georgetown Chambers of Commerce, Guyana Manufacturers’ Association, the individual trade unions, the Guyana Press Association, the Guyana Bar Association, the Guyana Medical Association, the UG Academic Board, NGOs, the Guyana Human Rights Association, organizations that cater for engineers, accountants etc.
Since Mr. Jagdeo did not point to a particular component of civil society, we have to wait and see who will make the first move. I am prepared to do so in my individual capacity since the three constituencies I belong to have not formally met to decide on how to respond to Mr. Jagdeo’s advocacy thus I cannot speak of their behalf. I hold the status of a member of the UG Academic Board. I am the Vice-Chairman of one of Guyana’s most active and vocal trade unions, and I belong to the media fraternity. By what right can you deny me civil society status? Also one must take into consideration that none of the three constituencies in which I function has any political affiliation. I have no political attachment. I did vote for the AFC in 2006 but that does not make me politically partisan one way or the other.
So here we go. Here is a member of civil society offering his comments on President Jagdeo’s exhortation. First, it was an illegal posture for the President to demand what the law does not empower him to do. He cannot speak on behalf of the Integrity Commission. He cannot dictate to the DPP’s Office. Secondly, I agree with the Opposition not to submit their documents until the case is heard in court. The very existence of the present Commission is being questioned. How can you put a judge to try a case when the defendant has filed a writ to prevent him from adjudicating on the basis that he, the judge, is an aggrieved party? What happens when the case goes ahead, the judge takes away the defendant’s property and down the line the writ was heard and the decision was that the judge should not preside?
Thirdly, the Integrity Commission was not selected with an input from civil society and the Parliamentary Opposition. The Commission should not be made to function until it gets a legal chairman. It has been without a head for years now. Why allow it to sit when a chairman should first be appointed. Fourthly, Mr. Fazil Ferouz, its Deputy Chairman should resign immediately because he is not an independent actor. If Mr. Ferouz would like to challenge me on this perception of him, I would be willing to respond once we stay clear of legal threats. I would be happy to further discuss my research on his politics.
Fifthly, Opposition Parliamentarian, Sheila Holder is impeccably correct when she cautioned the society that information in the possession of the Commission may find its way into the hands of the wrong persons who would be eager to use the data against the Parliamentary Opposition. Sixthly, President Jagdeo must be requested with immediate urgency to assign lie detector examinations to the new head of CANU and all Cabinet Ministers. This polygraph must be separated from the purpose of the submission of income to the Integrity Commission. The polygraph test must ask the Ministers specific questions.  Seventhly, Civil Society should speak out against the level to which the Ethnic Relations Commission has fallen. Finally, the Parliamentary Opposition should start boycotting Parliament. It is not independent.

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