AT the invitation of the Government, the United Nations (UN) will have a delegation in Guyana this week to begin consultations on Constitutional Reform. This frankly may be the only organisation that can save this country and cause our politicians to get down to serious work to weld the nation’s diverse communities into truly achieving our objective to be One People, One Nation, One Destiny. For too long this nation has been held back by those who don’t understand, don’t care to understand, or don’t respect the principles of politics and how government ought to work.
Politics properly practised is about people and people’s development. The principles of governance are established to ensure the people’s welfare is safeguarded and protected by respecting declarations, conventions, charters, constitution, laws and time-honoured principles, which would see the creation of the enabling environment so potentials can be unleashed and dreams and aspirations achieved.
I am strongly convinced,that the venomous reactions to the 1980 Constitution and insistence to overturn and disrespect it, are not driven by knowledge or understanding of how it ought to work, but because of the leadership under which it was realised. A constitution is a nation’s supreme law. It lays the foundation of the legal parameters of how the nation-state is identified, will be managed, its resources, including its citizens and others it does business with, will be treated.
Articles in a constitution are declarations of intent. To give meaning to them, requisite laws will have to be enacted by the Parliament. This is one of the reasons the President is considered part of the Parliament, in that when Bills are passed, the office-holder has a duty to assent or decline in keeping with the established procedures in the constitution.
Just as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) develops and approves conventions which are ratified by governments of member-states and the UN’s declarations which follow similar protocols, and both thereafter require local laws to give meaning to them, so too is the constitution.
For instance, ILO Conventions No. 87 and 98 guarantee the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Guyana ratified these conventions in 1966, which are enshrined in the Constitution at Article 147, and true meaning has been given to them in our Labour Laws. Today, these Labour Laws are treated with contempt and trade unions are denied the right to represent their members’ interests at the workplace, including those workers of the State, where the Government is the employer.
There is a notion that the constitution has to be amended to include a Bill of Rights, copying from the United States’ Bill of Rights. The UN Human Rights Declaration outlines Articles founded on the principle that all are created equal with inalienable rights, and must be treated with dignity and respect, and in doing so would create the foundation for freedom, justice and peace around the world.
The Constitution at Title 1, outlines: “The Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual,” based on the UN’s declaration. There are also articles on Rights Commissions, some of which are yet to be established, notable of which are the Human Rights Commission and Public Service Appellate Tribunal. Yet our politicians are calling for amendment to include a Bill of Rights, instead of moving to put laws in place to secure the rights and freedoms in the constitution, which are more expansive than the U.S.
There is no denying among the politicians, members of the government and lawmakers,that persons have not read the constitution, neither have they taken the time to understand how such an instrument ought to work.
This brings me to two articles that continue to be ignored and abused and in so doing, are largely responsible for much of our problems. Article 13 is the Principal Political Objective of the political system. It speaks to a system of inclusionary democracy, where individuals and groups will have a say in the management and decision-making processes of the State that impact their well-being. This article was championed by the APNU and AFC when in opposition and made part of their 2015 elections campaign, with the promise that it will form the cornerstone of how they govern.
This year marks 16 years of the existence of Article 13, of which the PPP/C had 14 years in office, and the APNU+AFC two years. Not one bill has been taken to the National Assembly during the 16 years to give meaning to this declaration. Having publicly called for it to be respected from the inception, when the APNU and AFC joined the call, while in opposition, it lead to the belief they were equally committed.
Today we see that Article 13 has been trampled upon in several instances. One instance near and dear me is the continued refusal of the Government to honour the request of the federated trade union bodies and private sector to discuss affairs of the State that impact on the well-being of our organisations and the interests we represent.
The other is Article 182, which grants the president immunity in the performance of his duties. No government has moved to create laws to clarify and outline this declaration, but we continue to witness various forms of misinterpretations and abuses. The nonsensical argument that the president is above the law, despite the fact that the office-holder has sworn to uphold the law, still holds sway and has come to mark and justify the excesses of the holder and the contempt displayed for the people, the management of the State and their resources.
Article 119A provides for a Parliamentary Standing Committee for Constitutional Reform, which allows for continual review and amendment as necessary. David Granger headed the committee in the 10th Parliament, but no work was done. In the 9th Parliament under the leadership of Ralph Ramkarran, the committee was comatose. In this 11th Parliament we do not know if it has been established. This article was part of the 2001 amendments.
I am counting on the UN to help us. It is hoped that the diplomacy of language this body employs is not lost on the political leadership in helping them to understand how a constitution works. The Guyana Trades Union Congress is slated to meet with the body and we shall make our presence felt.
