Green shoots of good governance

Apr 21, 2013 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

---

 

 

Green shoots of good governance have begun to sprout in Guyana. A Partnership for National Unity has been tilling the field of fairness and democracy for over fifteen months in the National Assembly. It was only this week, however, that the danger of the debilitating disease of executive dictatorship was deflected decisively.
The behaviour of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration for much of the time since January 2012 created a ‘democratic drought’ in this country. The administration deliberately set out to obstruct the majority Opposition – comprising A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance for Change parties – from functioning effectively. The 10th Parliament, configured after the 28th November 2011 elections, forced the PPPC into an uncomfortable minority position with only 32 out of 65 seats in the National Assembly.
The APNU-AFC Opposition from the start had to wrestle with the PPPC administration to assert the twin principles of the parliamentary authority and ministerial accountability. The administration, on its part, resorted to a fierce campaign of actions aimed at discrediting the Opposition and undermining the independence of the National Assembly.
The PPPC’s principal mode of attack was through the High Court. Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Anil Nandlall created legal history by bringing four High Court motions against Opposition Leader Brigadier David Granger and Speaker Raphael Trotman in a single calendar year. The Speaker correctly contended that “The continued resort to the High Court to question legitimate decisions of the National Assembly points to the grave and gathering danger of a ‘constitutional crisis’ which has the potential to assume proportions the like of which the nation has never seen and may be unable to handle.”
The Executive Branch, at one stage during the 2012 budget debate, used its administrative clout to coerce scores of public servants and other state employees onto the streets to protest against the Opposition. All 32 members of the Government side walked out of the Assembly on another occasion when their attempt to amend an Opposition motion to establish a National Heritage Commission was defeated by a majority vote!
The PPPC administration, on yet another occasion last December, dispatched a dossier of complaints against the Opposition. The dossier – sent to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the parliaments of the Caribbean; the Commonwealth Secretariat; the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and its branches; the Organisation of American States; the Union of South American Nations and other countries where Guyana has a diplomatic presence – made the outrageous allegation that the out-of-office opposition posed a clear and present threat to political stability and parliamentary democracy in Guyana.
It was evident by the end of 2012 that, if the National Assembly did not act to avert this dangerous drift away from its values by halting the PPP’s delusional campaign, the rich dividend of good governance that citizens expected from the 2011 general elections could shrivel and wither into a “democratic drought.” This would have meant, among other things, that the PPPC minority administration could resume the assertion of its dominance over the APNU-AFC majority opposition.
The Speaker, in the light of more than a year of this sort of relentless PPPC harassment, made a statement on 16th April upholding the National Assembly’s right to reduce the national budget. He stated clearly that, “The National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana has the power to amend, by reducing only, the Estimates of Expenditure submitted by the Minister responsible for Finance.”
The Speaker added, for good measure, “…the political system practiced in Guyana does not negate the authority of the National Assembly to amend Bills and Motions, including those dealing with public finance.” It was determined that the Assembly, apart from amending the budget, could also reject the entire budget or accept it without making amendments.
The Speaker’s statement was regarded by the Opposition as a “landmark…for parliamentary democracy.” Leader of the Opposition David Granger recounted how the government side had taken to using the state media to call the opposition all sorts of names– such as reckless, unruly and dictatorial. He expressed the hope that the PPPC would now discontinue its acrimonious accusations and allow the parties to pay attention to the business of governing the country.
The Leader of the Opposition also assured the Assembly that APNU had behaved consistently responsibly and always in the public interest. APNU on its own initiative, for example, had met delegations from the AFC, the Private Sector Commission, Guyana Trades Union Congress and other organizations with regard to issues arising out of the national budget.
The administration’s actions, if allowed to proceed unhindered, would have had a detrimental effect on an already shaky democracy and would have undermined popular faith in the legislative process. Confidence has been restored. The will of the majority has been respected. These tender green shoots should now be allowed to grow. They will, one day, yield a rich harvest that would provide a good life for all Guyanese.

---

---