GOVERNMENT wants citizens to participate in the process of governance, in ensuring that community projects and development initiatives of the State provide maximum benefit to Guyanese.Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, said on a national TV programme on State channel, NCN, that Government operates a number of social justice mechanisms to provide citizens with the platform to play a role in monitoring projects, lodging complaints, and even demanding answers from Ministers for their concerns and questions.

Corruption forms one of the most pervasive topic of conversation across this society. Opposition leaders jump on the corruption bandwagon, lambasting Government and State agencies for alleged corruption, and the word now forms the household lexicon of our nation.
In fact, the Opposition claims its main contention against Government centers around corruption. We see a national newspaper providing space for political commentators to regale the country with constant allegations and suspicions of State corruption.
Minister Nandlall took to the national television station to tackle this perception that corruption handicaps Guyana’s progress.
In fact, President Donald Ramotar’s Government shows openness and a firm willingness to engage the nation on these issues, and Minister Nandlall’s appearance on the TV programme emphasises Government’s commitment to open discussion and free engagement across the nation.
Minister Nandlall made the point that the State’s communications machinery “doesn’t do a good job” in negating the propaganda on corruption that the Opposition has been pushing.
The Minster said that since 1992, Government has enacted several measures to operate a transparent, open and clean accountability system, which allows any citizen recourse to lodge complaints, or even to summon Ministers to answer concerns or questions from the public.

A special court functions whereby citizens could challenge State agencies and officials on matters relating to the Constitution, and on how Government spends State finances.

Also, President Ramotar and Minister Nandlall appointed an Ombudsman, whose office provides an investigative and reportorial role for citizens to vent their grievances.

Guyanese citizens who see poor execution of local community projects like roads, drainage and irrigation works and bridges and State buildings have access to these national bodies that Government operates to lodge complaints, initiate action or cause investigations.

The onus is on Guyanese to exercise our civic duty to aid Government in the task of rebuilding the Guyanese society, after decades of socio-economic crisis and collapse.
We need to see such openness as emanating from President Ramotar and Minister Nandlall ripple across the society, to educate citizens, to motivate Guyanese to play their role in providing feedback and in keeping a watch, making sure that Government’s work benefits communities to the full potential and possibilities.

We want to see Opposition leaders and civic organisations take on this role of letting citizens know how empowered is each Guyanese citizen in our democracy.

As Minister Nandlall notes, in the functioning democracy of Guyana today, citizens not only vote freely and fairly for the Government of their choice, but also are fully empowered to participate in Government through making sure that State projects benefit their communities, with resort to the systems in place to deal with irregularities and inefficiencies.
Minister Nandlall noted that once Government is re-elected to office, President Ramotar would seek to engage international experts to clean up lingering malfunctions within the State financial system that allows leaks and breakdowns.
We must consider the context of why Guyana suffers from a persistent perception as a corrupt society, with the Private Sector particularly vulnerable, and the Public Sector, including the Justice system, a victim of decades of State corruption under the 1964 -1992 dictatorship, starting with 28 years of rigged elections, and absolute State regulation of every aspect and facet of Guyanese life, including food rationing and banning of freedom of the press.

After two decades in office, the Government of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has cleaned up much of the mess, though crucial work still remains.
But, significantly, most importantly, Government has empowered the average Guyanese citizen to the point where anybody could challenge Government on State contracts, and even demand answers from Ministers for their actions.
Clearly, what we need is a national information and communications programme to educate citizens on this watchdog role, so by engaging in the mechanisms now in place, anybody could participate in seeing development reach communities.
We see such civic engagement with the national effort, involving Government, a wide range of citizen groups, including youth organisations, and even the Diplomatic Corps, joining hands to clean up our communities, especially Georgetown.
This same opportunity, Minister Nandlall says, is in place for citizens to police State projects.
Nandlall debunks wild allegations and gross generalisations of Opposition leaders claiming that the State’s tendering and procurement process is flawed, and detailed the independent and advanced State accountability system in place, on the TV programme.
He also referred to the role of the Auditor General in reporting annually to Parliament, working from an autonomous, independent agency outside Cabinet or Ministerial interference.
Opposition leaders would serve the Guyanese nation with sound, professional and ethical leadership were they to work hard to educate and motivate citizens of our civic duties in this free, open and fair democratic nation. Guyana is open to citizen engagement.
Minister Nandlall noted the lack of efficiently skilled State-employed middle managers and supervisors to manage project execution, and so the role of citizens in our skills-drained society to provide vital feedback and checks becomes crucial.
Opposition leaders would play a defining role were they to work with citizens to get Guyanese to engage in government’s developmental work, rather than sit at desks complaining and throwing about wild accusations, allegations and suspicions, in the process demoralising citizens and demotivating the nation.
As Minister Nandlall demonstrates with the TV appearance, Government is open and willing to engage on this pervasive perception that Guyana is caught in the throes of corruption.
In such engagement, we see that a lot of the perception is unfounded and that Government actually operates mechanisms to allow citizens to play a real role in making sure Government initiatives benefit Guyanese.

by Shaun Michael Samaroo