…proposes rotated Presidency, PM, joinder party representation and more

By Lisa Hamilton

A GROUP of concerned Guyanese, both local and abroad, are concerned with Guyana’s political trajectory and have therefore developed the ‘Guyana Renewal Project’ which proposes an immediate period of inclusionary governance to allow for Constitutional reform.

On Monday, the group shared the project outline noting that initial aim is to spark dialogue and find a solution to Guyana’s current political crisis. The Project comes as Guyana is awaiting a conclusion to its over four-month-long elections amidst a very tense political climate.

The group, which identifies itself as “non-partisan Guyanese patriots from all ethnicities” put forward that since the submission of the report of the Constitution Reform Commission to the National Assembly on July 17, 1999, successive governments have failed to act to implement the spirit of Article 13.

Article 13 of Guyana’s Constitution states: “The principal objective of the political system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens, and their organisations, in the management and decision-making processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being. The operationalization of this fundamental national principle must be an outcome of the resolution of Guyana’s current political crisis.”

Due to inaction in this regard, the group said that Guyana is lurched from one crisis to the next each election and citizens are traumatised by tensions caused by the “flawed Constitution”.

“Today, Guyanese at home and abroad are asking many questions and expressing concerns about the present political situation and the economic consequences. There are deep concerns and fears about the ethnic polarisation and unseemly racism that haunts the land. Guyanese citizens at home and abroad want homegrown solutions. They recognise that now is the time for dialogue,” the group asserted.

It was out of this concern that the Guyana Renewal Project was developed. It is anchored in the spirit of Article 13 and includes a short document titled: “Proposal for Inclusive Governance Approach in Guyana” which details the core ideas of the proposal.

With regards to the format for Presidency, Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Presidency and Prime Minister will be rotated while the Cabinet will include representatives from the two major political parties and the joinder party.

The results reports of the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), though none used as yet for a declaration, have shown that the joinder parties — the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), The New Movement (TNM) and the A New and United Guyana (ANUG) — have gained enough votes for one seat in the National Assembly.

The other known major political parties are the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (ANPU+AFC) coalition of six-parties and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

The Guyana Renewal Project also proposes practical inclusive governance at the Ministerial level. This would include a developed structure for sharing responsibilities in the ministries such as collaboration between senior Ministers from one party and the Junior minister from another. It would also see Technical Committees which include stakeholders from the two major parties and the joinder party be established in each ministry.

As it relates to the annual budget, it is proposed that it be required to be passed by a two-thirds majority as opposed to the simple majority currently required.

Importantly, the Project also recommends the establishment of two high-level committees: an Executive Committee for Inclusive Governance and an Executive Committee for Policy and Economic and Development Planning.

The former Executive Committee, which deals with inclusive governance will set out to ensure the effective functioning of the inclusive arrangement; to select other representatives and parties for various levels of inclusive governance such as boards and committees; to monitor, review, and revise the processes as required and to conduct other duties to be further developed.

Meanwhile, the Policy and Economic and Development Planning Committee would allow for internal cohesion and decision-making for individual parties.

Its intention is to facilitate and ensure internal cohesion in the government which would in turn facilitate a collective approach to decision-making at the Cabinet and individual party levels and ensure that the parties do not lose their individuality as they contribute to the government.

Meanwhile, the internal cohesion and decision-making aspect would allow for internal central governance committees comprising of ministers and core members of the individual parties to facilitate high-level interactions and decision-making.

The proposal also will allow for the re-engineering of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) so that it can be modernized and be less “vulnerable to interference”.

The group of concerned Guyanese, from the diaspora and locally, stated: “These are times that call for consequential and transformative decisions. Let us call upon our political leaders to show their stature and rise to the moment… We acknowledge that our democracy is broken and needs to be fixed if we are going to succeed as a nation. We are embarking on the hard path of having a meaningful public conversation on what we need to do as Guyanese people to fix the mess we are in and move forward as a nation together. We recognize that many have attempted to walk this road and have developed meaningful solutions that have yet to be implemented. We hope to collaborate with other like-minded groups and champion the implementation of the best ideas to move Guyana forward for the benefit of all Guyanese.”

In the interest of sparking discussions on the Guyana Renewal Project, they have called on citizens to bring the proposal to the attention of President David Granger and Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.