There is need for social and constitutional engineering

Nov 26, 2018 Letters

Dear Editor,
Good governance is a necessary condition for economic growth and national development. This is all the more important in plural societies such as ours where there are high levels of mistrust by major segments of the population.
One political scientist, Ali Mazrui described Guyana as a ‘dual’ society with a pun on the word ‘duel’.
Guyana, it must be acknowledged, has made some modest progress in terms of democratic and constitutional gains. We have introduced some innovative governance mechanisms at the local level with the fifty-fifty split between constituency and proportional representation. This is a significant constitutional and governance advance which I think is applicable at the national level as well.
At a more fundamental level, there is need for a new governance paradigm in which the current system of ‘winner takes it all’ is supplanted by a more inclusive and participatory model in which all stakeholders become integrally involved in the decision-making processes, both at the legislative and executive levels.
The stakes are much higher today thanks to the emerging oil and gas economy which will make this coming national elections much more competitive and intense.
The Parliamentary Constitutional Committee which is the body with responsibility to examine ways of reforming our constitution has for all practical purposes gone into a state of coma. There is an apparent lack of interest to come up with new and innovative thinking on the way forward.
This is a major failing of the current administration which during its opposition years was highly vocal on the issue of shared governance and constitutional reforms.
It is my considered view that given the level of lethargy and indifference by policy makers, the United Nations Development Programme, in collaboration with the Carter Centre should be approached to come up proposals for a new governance model that is customized to meet our peculiar political and ethnic make-up.
The advantage of such an approach is that it will allow for fresh and unbiased governance perspectives which can draw on models from other jurisdictions with similar political and ethnic characteristics.
There is need for some amount of social and constitutional engineering to advance the process of national reconciliation and in so doing allow for the full flourishing of our national potential.
Hydar Ally

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