Dr Rose’s appointment will intensify controversy

Feb 11, 2009 News

---

…as GHRA calls for Govt. to withdraw his nomination

The recently announced appointment of Dr. James Rose as Chairman of the Integrity Commission will exacerbate the controversy surrounding that body, says the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA).
The organisation stated that it is patently clear that the appointment of a person from the ruling party’s Electoral List whose professional career has benefited substantially from party support will not enhance public confidence in the Commission.
It also pointed to the exclusively religious membership being a troubling feature of the Integrity Commission.
The GHRA noted that apart from the Chair, the members of the Integrity Commission are chosen from the Christian, Muslim and Hindu religions but the section of the law relevant to membership of the Commission reads: The other members (than the Chair) shall be appointed from among persons appearing to the President to be qualified as having the experience of, and shown capacity in law, administration of justice, public administration, social service, finance or accountancy or any other discipline.
“Combined with experience in one of the designated areas, being a Minister of Religion would not preclude a person from eligibility…Valid questions arise, however, when all of the members appear to be chosen primarily by virtue of being leaders of religious organisations…Apart from the qualification issue, this approach also suggests unacceptable gender bias since women have never been leaders of the religions represented.”
The GHRA emphasised that the Integrity Commission is a statutory body of the State and all qualified citizens, whether religious or secular, have a right to see themselves and to be seen as equal candidates for such a Commission.
“On a practical note, a Commission comprised of secular membership for the very fact of being secular would be under greater public scrutiny to exercise vigilance than has been required to date of the Integrity Commission.”
The body also pointed out that less it be overlooked by the attention focused on parliamentarians, the Integrity Commission’s remit covers every person holding a specified public office including all senior officers in the Public Service, Corporations, Diplomatic Service, Parliamentary, Regional and local government officials, Chairmen, Commissioners, Town Clerks, UG Deans and senior executives, literally hundreds of people.  .
It was also pointed out that the issue of an additional place on the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) being assigned to the Inter-Religious Organization (IRO) surely, should be re-focused.
It was pointed out that if it is genuinely representative of all religious opinion, the IRO should replace not add to the existing separate confessional representation.
“Nesting each religious sub-culture in their own niches on Commissions rather than promoting the legal solidarity of citizenship, suggests mutual lack of respect and trust.  Surely the proper role of religion is to foster a balance in secular society between shared equal citizenship and cultural difference.”
According to the GHRA the role of religion in public life in Guyana is currently being defined more by the ruling party than by the religious communities themselves.
The GHRA noted that creating official positions for religious advisors in the Office of the President and including members of the Integrity Commission on official trips abroad add to the blurring of lines between political and religion activism.
“Without impugning the motives of the Government in encouraging this trend, religious leaders should surely be less complacent over where they tread…As a cautionary tale one might recall that while the formal status of religion in public life has never been higher, religious influence on public policy has never been lower. By way of contrast, in the 1970s and 80s when religious institutions were firmly excluded from public life, religious influence was dynamic, respected and impactful.”
The entity posited that a step in the direction of disentangling religion from partisan politics might be for the leadership of the Inter-Religious Organization (IRO) to put a stop to divisive inter-party wrangling on the Ethnic Relations Committee by withdrawing itself from contention.
According to the GRA, it behooves the religious membership of the Integrity Commission to make known publicly its views on the appointment of the proposed Chairman who has a public image of alignment to the ruling party.
Such an image will inevitably have a ‘chilling effect’ on the wide range of persons who must lodge confidential information with the Commission.
The GHRA stated that it was of the belief that many religious leaders in Guyana are disturbed by the developments outlined but are unsure how to respond to them and a promising first step, might be to start a public conversation on the appropriate role for religion in public life.
“A clear-sighted and disinterested reflection on whether religious influence is not more effectively exercised entirely outside of political institutions than from within would be extremely helpful for the society in general….In the meantime the Government should withdraw its nomination of Dr. Rose to Chair the Integrity Commission and review membership qualifications of the other members.”

---

---