THE unnecessary political arrogance demonstrated by the less than two-month old Guyana Government in bringing a swift end to the public inquiry into the circumstances of death of Dr Walter Rodney last Tuesday, could well come to be a haunting factor in its quest for social and economic progress with democratic governance in a stable climate.
Not only the main opposition People’s Progressive Party and civil society organisations are deeply disappointed – though not surprised – by the sudden end to the three-member Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of death of the world-famous historian and a founder-leader of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) on the night of June 13, 1980.
So too are rank-and-file supporters of the People’s National Congress (PNC) – the dominant partner in the coalition Government of President David Granger.
WPA’s agony
To their credit, the more militant and committed activists of the WPA – a junior coalition partner – have already gone public with their disappointment over the Government’s insistence – as choreographed by Attorney General, Mr Basil Williams, not to extend the CoI’s mandate beyond the mere two days allotted for resumption of sittings last week. Despite, mind you, another plea from the slain Rodney’s widow and children.

Having failed to take ANY positive initiative on its own during its long control of State power to mount an independent probe of its own into Rodney’s death that occurred amid widespread national protests against what was known as the “Burnham dictatorship,” the least this new coalition Administration could have done was to be flexible in extending the CoI for a reasonable period, instead of decreeing merely two days.
In the circumstances, it seems simply a crude example of an administrative regime flexing power, based largely on a one-seat majority in the 65-member Parliament. Ironically, that one-seat majority includes the support of “coalition partner” – the WPA.
As earlier recalled by this columnist, lack of state funding has been advanced by Attorney General Williams, who had participated in earlier public hearings of the three-member commission.

Interestingly, however, no relevant details of this claimed “lack of funding” were ever given for the benefit of public information — either when the Government first signalled its intention to terminate the public inquiry.
Interestingly, while this column was being written, there came the disclosure, as reported in a section of the media yesterday, that the coalition Government has decided on a significant package of salary increases for ministers. Yet, no new allocation could be made to continue the inquiry into the killing of Dr Rodney? As Trinidadians like to quip, “yuh think it easy?”
It bears emphasis to recall that it took some 38 years for an independent high-level probe, as the one appointed by previous President Donald Ramotar to be a reality. During that period, the PNC and the PPP had separately controlled state power for almost the same period of some 20 odd years between 1980 and 2015.
It is commendable that the WPA – some of whose best known personalities, locally and regionally — could publicly disagree (thanks to consistently disciplined militant “comrades”) with the official “diktat” to shut down the “Rodney Commission of Inquiry.”

A question of immediate relevance is whether there is going to be an extension of the CoI or whether we have to await the coming budget in Parliament when, as Barbadians like to cynically remark, “yardfowl talk” occurs!
Venezuela’s challenge
In the meantime, we look forward to an early meeting between President Granger and new Opposition Leader of the PPP and former two-term President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, to discuss the current, most pressing national issue of the new politics by the current Government of Venezuela in this post-Hugo Chavez era to keep alive that country’s colonial era claim to two-thirds of this nation’s demarcated and internationalised 83,000 square miles of territory.
Among more recent developments is the disclosure last week of the meeting by Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro, with United Nations Secretary General, Ban-Ki-moon, to seek the world body’s “mediation” in the territorial controversy between the two border neighbours that, otherwise, keep alluding to the importance of respectful relations.
Strangely, while President Maduro and President Granger have been engaged in separate diplomatic initiatives to resolve the dated 19th century territorial claim by Venezuela to Guyana, there is yet to be any serious effort by both of them for a meeting, on neutral ground, with an independent mediator to at least agree on a framework for future dialogue — in or out of the Caribbean Region.
Now that the PPP has decided to occupy its 32 seats in the 65-member Parliament, with former President Jagdeo in the new role as Opposition Leader, perhaps some bi-partisan consultation should begin between them to arrest the spreading negative developments in favour of constructive engagement between the governments in Georgetown and Caracas. Such consultation could well take place prior to a meeting between President Granger and Dr. Jagdeo.
(Rickey Singh is a noted Guyana-born, Barbados-based Caribbean journalist)

Analysis by
Rickey Singh