Citizenry should drive Constitutional Reform- Hughes

Dec 18, 2018 News

Holding firm to the view that pertinent constitutional changes are inevitable in order to protect democracy, Attorney- at -law Nigel Hughes, has stressed the importance of civil society being the driving force behind that reform.
The promise of Constitutional Reform was made by the ruling Coalition Government. The APNU –AFC Coalition had touted major changes to the governance structure, including separate elections to elect a President and National Assembly members; the capping of presidential powers; and changes to the composition of service commissions, among other reforms.
However, the process of achieving Constitutional Reform has been met with a number of delays with both members of the government showing little to no interest in bringing about the change.
At this juncture, Hughes stressed the importance of civil society becoming the driving force behind the constitutional change.
“It is quite disappointing that neither the government nor the opposition seems to have an appetite for constitutional reform … I believe that it’s the citizens who must ultimately decide on the fate of constitutional reform in Guyana,” Hughes said in an invited comment on the matter.
The lawyer noted that Constitutional Reform touches almost every facet of society including issues of women, governance, indigenous rights, legality and criminal justice, and children.
“And therefore, it is civil society, which will ultimately benefit from the reform,” Hughes added

Attorney- at –law, Nigel Hughes

This is not the first time that civil society has been called on to drive the issue of constitutional reform.
Back in 2017, Civil society groups like RISE Guyana had expressed support for the reform noting that the change takes into account issues such as indigenous lifestyle, daily life, culture, land or even land titles.
While specifically addressing why there should be change to the Guyana Constitution, RISE Guyana had emphasized the gravity of Constitutional Reform.
“Traditional land rights aren’t addressed in the constitution. Indigenous heritage and livelihood are tied to their land. The land is their home, pharmacy, kitchen and hunting ground. Protections are placed but are not acted on.”
The group had highlighted a number of issues that would have to be implemented in a new constitution. These included but are not limited to reduced presidential limits, legislation of campaign finances, and transparency on salaries above $50,000 to put all monies above board.
RISE Guyana, is a non-profit organisation, which committed to a countrywide push for reforming Guyana’s constitution.
“We strongly feel that unless an external force is brought to bear, the politicians would continue to drag their feet and/or institute changes that do not wholly address the problem in its entirety.
This is the reason why RISE was formed,” said one of the organisation’s directors, Marcel Gaskin stated at the call for constitutional reform.
The group of freethinkers, planned to establish groups across the country and consult with Guyanese to ascertain their basic concerns and find out what types of constitutional reforms they would like to see to address those concerns.
“These citizens believe strongly that constitutional reform is critical to achieving executive accountability, racial harmony, and political, social and economic inclusivity,” the group said in a statement.
The promise of Constitutional Reform was made by the ruling APNU –AFC Coalition Government.
Almost immediately after taking office, Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, set up a steering committee on Constitutional Reform. That Committee, headed by Hughes, had prepared a report on Constitutional reform.
The report which was supposed to be used to help guide Constitutional Reform in Guyana was handed over to Prime Minister Nagamootoo, over two years ago.

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