The best country in the world

Jan 20, 2010 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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President Bharrat Jagdeo referring to the consultations his Government had with stakeholders over his LCDS thing, referred to Guyana as the best country in the world, within the context of seeking people’s participation on a particular development, as with the case of the LCDS.
He went on to observe that no other country in the world has engaged in such extensive consultations with its citizenry as happened with the LCDS bandwagon. Whether this was a non-truth is not the essential issue to be argued here. Of course there are those who would opine that they don’t believe President Jagdeo, because the President announced a 2.5 percent growth last year and any preliminary assessment of the performance last year would throw deep doubt on that.
I reiterate – the point about whether the oceans of consultations took place is not the issue. It is why a President is overjoyed that his government was more democratic than all the others on Planet Earth in approaching its citizens for their opinion on a particular matter, but this very country belongs to a small cluster of brutal regimes that only allow one radio station to operate. The contradiction here is not only huge, but nasty and immoral. How can a Government tell its population that it went further than all the other nations in the world in seeking cooperation from the society on a particular course of action but that very government does not allow competition among radio stations?
There is one answer. There were no widespread consultations because such a regime does not allow for such intermingling with the citizenry. There cannot be an alternative explanation. A Government refuses to permit the opening up of radio stations after seventeen years in power. This very Government refuses to have a Freedom of Information Act after seventeen years in power. Yet with such a background in authoritarian control, it went all over the territory soliciting the inhabitants’ view on LCDS because it cares to know how the people are thinking on the subject and it wants to incorporate their opinions on its plan on climate change.
Politics is not made of that kind of nice boy stuff that we have been sold about democratic consultations on LCDS. It is like Hitler consulting the Jews on the music of Wagner that he likes. So he says that no European country has gone that far in asking its people about their choice of music.
But he doesn’t consult the Jews on the policy of discrimination that he practices against them. The European countries laugh at Hitler.
They say, yes we are sorry we don’t dialogue with our Jews on what music to disseminate but our Jews enjoy the right to work, to citizenship, to dissent, to marry who they want, to be represented in Parliament and above all the right to life which you, Germany, don’t consult your Jews on.
This thing about Guyana being the best country in the world in terms of democratic reaching-out has a funny ring to it. Why consultations on LCDS and not on radio station licences, freedom of information, governmental advertisements in the newspapers, the function of the state-owned media,  the retirement age,  parliamentary reform,  constitutional reform, Guysuco’s Demerara estates,  confirmation of acting appointments in the public sector, opposition and independent stakeholders on state boards, the re-structuring of the judiciary and the list goes on.
This best country in the world exclamation over LCDS is also offensive. How can a government announce to its citizens that it is more democratic than most other countries because of how accountable it was by soliciting the views of so many stakeholders yet the very government lacks all the essential ingredients of democracy? It brings us back to the question – can such a government engage in meaningful, transparent and accountable consultations? It cannot. It takes us further back to the consultations on the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union in September 2008 at the Convention Center. Two hours on day two was assigned for attendees airing their views.
The next day we were told that there was widespread consultation on the need to amend the EPA.
These mammoth democratic consultations aren’t working. First the EU and Caricom rejected amendments to the EPA. Secondly, the LCDS has become a Danish bagel that is still baking in the oven. Remember the opening lines from the famous 70s hit, “Mac Arthur Park.”
“Mac Arthur’s Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain.
I don’t think that I can take it
‘Cause it took so long to bake it
And I’ll never have that recipe again.”

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