Guyana fully committed to the rule of law

Nov 15, 2015 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

---

(Address By Prime Minister Moses V. Nagamootoo to the Open Government Partnership Summit, Mexico City)
Excellency, President Pena Nieto, Vice President of South Africa, Ministers, Ambassadors, Social Partners,

Leaders; Guyana is grateful to Mexico for the kind reception and hospitality and for the invitation to attend the Open Government Partnership (OGP) 2015 Global Summit. Guyana salutes the United States and other founding members for kick-starting the OGP initiative and congratulates Mexico on its leadership in the past year.
For Guyana, being here is a kind of homecoming, as this is where we need to be (or ought to be) in the near future. We look forward to being the 70th member, in the 70th year of the United Nations, once we conclude the consultation process and find sponsorship and support for our candidature.
Our government is only five months young, having come into office in May of this year. I bring greetings from His Excellency President David Granger, and the assurance that we are fully committed to the rule of law, to open democratic governance, open (unfettered) justice, a free media and accountability to our people.
We are a coalition government of six parties, faced with the twin battle to re-establish our democracy and simultaneously protect our national sovereignty.  Guyana is a small country with vast resources.  Our border with our Western neighbour was settled in 1897 under the Treaty of Washington.  However, Venezuela has sought to reassert a patently false claim to five-eighths of Guyana, which includes most of our vast forested lands and mineral resources, as well as our Exclusive Economic Maritime Zone. Venezuela has proceeded to impose a trade embargo against Guyana, refusing to continue a longstanding trade agreement to buy our rice and to sell us fuel.
Venezuela is also continuing to block oil exploration off Guyana’s coast and inside our territory, to threaten our investors in gold and other mineral extraction.  This is all in clear violation of international law and the obligations of every international treaty.
Guyana is a peaceful nation enjoying cordial relations with every nation in this hemisphere.  We have never laid claim to any country’s territory.  Guyana does not imprison political opponents or practice blackmail or bullying diplomacy. We seek to be part of the global community of nations that respect the rule of law, and to align ourselves with transformative movements like the OGP.
Partnership on the core tenets of transparency, civil participation, and the fight against corruption are a celebration and a strengthening of democracy.  More importantly, it allows for the development of our citizens and our country.
During the campaign prior to Guyana’s National elections this year, I repeatedly borrowed from the Ten Commandments laid out in the Bible, i.e. God’s law: “THOU SHALL NOT STEAL.” My Government practices this law as we seek to re-build our nation.
Today I find in this partnership and in the objectives of the OGP much that is aligned to our own objectives and the mechanisms to help us to eradicate all vestiges of corruption in our country. We believe that we have found good company in the OGP.
We undertake to follow and implement all of the necessary procedures and caveats required by Guyana to become a participating member of the OGP.  This, of course, requires us to seek endorsement and full approval for our candidature.
We are proud and humbled to be here and we thank you for the privilege.”

**********************************************************************************

Building momentum towards Sustainable Development through Open Government Partnership

(Contributed by Stephen Davenport & Tiago Carneiro Peixoto)

The just-completed Open Government Partnership annual summit focused on how greater openness in Government can accelerate progress toward attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The open government agenda is most closely linked to the ambitious Goal 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions which focuses, among other targets, on ensuring “responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.” Though progress in this area is difficult to quantify, evidence shows that citizen participation – the next Transparency frontier – is important to development outcomes.
These examples show that if the open government movement is going to help build momentum toward the SDGs, more attention must be paid to refining the role of City/Municipal governments and broadening the opportunities to engage citizens.
The OGP Global Summit provided an opportunity for members to consolidate and build momentum, reflect on what is working and what is not, and lay out a framework for further exchange, cooperation and action.
Land issues play a significant role in this scenario.  Governments should develop National Action Plans that promote transparency and accountability in land matters. Civil society organizations can help by pressing governments to address land transparency by:
·    Creating a publicly available cadaster, which includes not just the boundaries of individual private property, but also land held by Indigenous Peoples and other rural communities that is registered and held under customary tenure;
·    Sharing information regarding ongoing negotiations for agricultural or land-based investments; and
·    Releasing to the public the contracts and agreements with foreign and domestic investors.

---

---