Why our MPs won’t stand up: Integrity and the Constitution. A response to GHK Lall

Oct 24, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

Reflecting on the fall of Liz Truss after six weeks as UK PM, GHK Lall chides PPP MPs for lack of integrity, honesty, honor, principle and patriotism (see OPINION: Liz Truss: look at who ousted her; where are the PPP equivalents? Demerara Waves, 21 October 2022). He draws a contrast between the UK MPs of Truss’s own party that ousted her and PPP MPs apparent inability to stand up to their Party Leaders. Where are the political rebels within the PPP with the cojones to stand up to the leadership and demand detailed scrutiny and sound justification for the gas-to-shore project, for instance (I’m paraphrasing)? I agree with GHK that our legislators’ performances leave much to be desired, but I fear that his criticisms are somewhat misdirected.

True, there is no shortage of issues which show our elected politicians in an embarrassing light. He mentions the one-sided petroleum contract that the PPP denounced when in Opposition but embrace now that they are in Government. He is also concerned about the multi-billion US Dollar gas-to-shore project which the Government is charging ahead with in the face of calls for more thorough feasibility analysis and due diligence. Guyanese people have every right to be concerned given the size of the investment, given our abysmal history of failed large projects.

GHK is right to be concerned about these things. However, while he highlights what he sees as the poor evidence of integrity and character, he is overlooking the main culprit, which are the provisions of our Constitution. The UK MPs, like Parliamentarians the world over are linked primarily to their citizen supporters. Our political system, by contrast, is set up to enforce loyalty to the Party Leader above all. Constituents only matter at election time. Article 156 of our Constitution gives the Party Leader (officially the ‘Representative of the List’) the power to have a dissident party member expelled from Parliament at any time and so he has all his members in his grasp. This does not completely excuse the inability of MPs to take an independent stand when it is called for, but it is a major factor. It is possible to organize and subvert the Party Leadership as Charandass demonstrated. However, this party control system is undemocratic, favors autocratic rule and absolutely must be changed as part of any serious constitutional and election reform in this country.

Regards,

Desmond Thomas

NB: I too would like to see Politicians who show the guts and character to stand on principle even if their position in Parliament is at stake. However, the failure of our Politicians goes beyond integrity.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News