It is important for the nation to embrace a new culture

Jun 11, 2015 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Practicality and accountability must be applied to secure meaningful growth in our body politics post-2015 elections. National unity is a realisable concept if there is acceptance that it has to be premised on principles guided by international conventions, charters, constitution and laws.
The elections of 2015 have given the nation a result where the APNU+AFC controls the Executive and has the majority in the National Assembly, unlike the 2011 elections where the PPP controlled the Executive and the opposition controlled the National Assembly.
The figures tell us it is important for the nation to embrace a new culture where we appreciate the right of every Guyanese and their organisation to involvement in the management and decision-making processes of the state and their development, consistent with Article 13 of the Constitution which stipulates inclusionary democracy as the nation’s principal political objective.
Ours is a representative democracy and where the PPP, APNU+AFC or any other group or individual proposes sound idea(s) to develop the nation and advance citizens’ wellbeing, such must be acknowledged, ventilated and where necessary embraced.
The urge to disregard idea and/or shut out others because they are perceived as not belonging to the particular group has to cease. Ours is a nation of One People with the aspiration of One Destiny and we can only get there when we commit to exercise tolerance and respect for each other and adhere to the tenets for achieving these as grounded in our Constitution. This 11th Parliament, the nation’s highest decision-making forum, must set the tone of a deserving new dispensation.
And with regards to shared governance, this does not mean having all the political parties in the Executive. To do this opens the people for abuse, in that a group of privileged persons would be dictating to the masses.
Competition is a healthy feature of democracy; it serves as checks and balances on political rivals/aspirants, and rewards parties whose programmes and politics are in the people’s interest. Democracy also guarantees the right to freedom of association and protection from discrimination on the grounds of said association (Article 147 and 149 in the constitution).
An application of shared governance in our society would see respect for the voice (input) of the people through their elected representatives in the national assembly and other political organs. It also means activating all strata of government and giving these bodies the requisite resources/support to manage for the people and by the people. The spirit and intent of this is reflected in the constitution that allows for three tiers of government (national, regional and local) but its realisation has been hampered by the masses being kept in ignorance, inclusive of some leaders, as to what is prescribed in the constitution, due to political greed and lack of political will.
The regional system is a constitutional requirement and is there to give authority to the people of the region to identify their leaders, conceptualise, develop and implement programmes in their interests. The will of the people in the last two regional elections must now be given true meaning and respect.
This society still awaits laws to deepen and strengthen the administration of the regions to conduct their activities as outlined in Article 76 and 77 of the Constitution. The act establishing regional government in 1980 was the first step towards decentralised government and putting power in the hands of the people at the grassroots level. Thirty-five years after this process we should have been further along the development continuum.
At local government level, for years the people have been denied their right to have this tier of government function in their interest. For too long the citizenry have been denied being integrally involved in managing their towns, villages and districts. The refusal of President Ramotar to assent to all the Local Government Bills is indicative that the PPP did not want to empower the local communities to make decisions on their behalf. The 11th Parliament and President Granger are urged to right these wrongs at the soonest.
The constitution in its stipulated various tiers of government informs us that when applied in its totality, such allows for citizens inclusion and respect for their decisions. The period when decisions are made in Georgetown for outlying regions must end. Laws must now be put in place to strengthen Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and Regional Democratic Councils.
Given that the councillors in these two tiers of government were voted for by the citizens of the regions and neighbourhood, the people must be allowed to identify their leaders, formulate their plans, raise their own taxes, develop their own programmes, receive their own subventions from central government, and given the latitude consistent with the laws and based on their regional/local profile, to attract business into their regions and communities.
National unity and shared governance are not proposed or unrealistic expectations; they are realisable here and now, since the mechanisms to make them real are already enshrined in the Constitution.
Lincoln Lewis

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