KAIETEUR

GEORGETOWN
EnergiesNet.com 04 11 2022

 With Guyana expecting a 47 percent growth rate in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, three minor political parties believe that adherence to the laws as well as the tenants of transparency, inclusion, and accountability, are key aspects of good governance which ought to accompany the said growth.

The political parties made this assertion during a virtual programme hosted by Globespan 24×7 on Wednesday evening.

Representing the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) was Deputy Speaker, Lenox Shuman, while A New and United Guyana (ANUG) was represented by its Chairperson, Timothy Jonas S.C and the Federal United Party (FEDUP) by Mr. Chandra Sohan. Moderating the programme was Mr. Vishnu Bisram.

During the discussion, Shuman opined to the panel that there are several pillars of good governance, which includes adherence to the rule of law, how government interacts with the Constitution and other subordinate laws as well as, how they interact with the public and implement policies.

Meanwhile, Jonas pointed out that while Guyana remains in the early stage of development, many dangers lie ahead. Notably, however, the lawyer said that the first limb of good governance is transparency.

He explained, “Our government is the largest employer and the largest provider of contracts so corruption is easy and corruption can be rampant, so there needs to be transparency in dealings.”

The party leader further noted that because the government is the largest employer and has access to large finances, they may have temptation to award jobs, designate officials and moreover, award contracts. But to ensure there is transparency in the management of the country, he said “it is important to delegate and decentralize so that there are antonymous agencies that can operate independently and report directly to Parliament, rather than the government controlling the purse strings for each of the NDCs, for each of the regional commissions.”

More importantly, Jonas highlighted the need for the political Opposition to be able to have a say in the management of the country.

“I think we need to have a process of consultative decision making where the Opposition is involved and have a real say, not a minor say,” he urged, while adding that these pillars are presently absent in the current governance climate.

The Lawyer pointed out that only recently the Opposition walked out of a Parliamentary Committee meeting, after its nominees to sit on the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Board, was ignored.

The NRF Board is responsible for the overall management of the monies garnered from oil and gas production. The Opposition had chosen former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams and civil society member and prominent Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram. While using its majority on the Committee of Appointments, the government decided on former member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), Mr. Dunstan Barrow.

To this end, Jonas argued that Guyana is now left with no member of the Opposition on that Board, while the government is left to watch over how it manages the funds. He said, “It’s all well and good to say oh well I’ll put the Liberty and Justice Party member on this innocuous board and publish it and pretend to the people that you are being inclusive, but if you have a party that represents half of the citizens of Guyana and that party gets not a single seat on one of the most important commissions, gets not a single seat on the commission dealing with the natural resources fund, not a single seat on procurement issues, not a singular voice in appointing the Police Service Commission…if those reshuffling procedures are done unilaterally and the party that represents half of the country has no say in it, well, are we really serious if we are asking a question about if government has reached out?…”

While elaborating his point on the need for transparency, Jonas made reference to the fact that there are still burning questions relating to the construction of the new Demerara River Crossing, as the contract was pulled from the best bidder and government is still in talks with another.

According to him, “Right now we have no clue of how decisions are made, on expenditure from the natural resources fund. We don’t get a peep in that door. We have no clue how GPL is operating, how the large contracts are being awarded. We hear that there is a Demerara Harbour Bridge contract where the winning bid is not the group going ahead but it went with the second winning bid, and we don’t know why, and a whole country is not in a position to find out to enquire why.”

The advocate warned that if change is not implemented, then Guyana will continue to slide down the “slippery slope into corruption” and poverty. In fact, he argued that the politics should not be “the winner controls everything”.

FEDUP member, Chandra Sohan also lamented the fact that small parties have not been given an opportunity to be part of oversight bodies. He also told the panel that he believes good governance intertwines with accountability.

In this regard, Sohan argued that the government must be responsive to the needs of its people, adding that Manifesto or election campaign promises must be fulfilled.

“Promises were made and when it comes to implementing those promises there has to be systems in place to ensure things are transparent, and people in office are accountable for what they do. Electorate must be able to see in a clear manner what is going on. We can’t operate in secrecy and expect the people to know what is going on. We don’t know what is going on and nobody seems interested in telling us what is going on,” the Lawyer reasoned.

kaieteurnewsonline.com 04 09 2022