ANOTHER election hurdle has been passed without an incident, that is, the inauguration of our seventh Executive President of Guyana, Donald Ramotar; and it would be left to be seen if the current calm and peace would be sustained, and if it does most Guyanese would rejoice, particularly against the backdrop of the beginning of the festive season which traditionally in our country has been one of peace and goodwill.
No Head of State would like to lead a minority government as is the case with President Ramotar, but it is a reality which he and the Guyanese people will have to live with, as no amount of analyses and post mortems will change that. Therefore, instead of spending much energy in dealing with what caused such a situation, the new President should instead focus on how to move the country forward out of a difficult political scenario. And he will be judged by how well he handles the current situation. Great leaders are the ones who are able to turn an adverse situation into one of strength and if President Ramotar could do so in our current political environment, he will go down as one of our great leaders.
In this regard, President Ramotar must be given credit for the manner in which he has started to deal with the situation. He has pledged to be a fair and just leader, and a willingness to work with all stakeholders to advance Guyana’s development, casting partisanship aside.
“I pledge to you that I will work steadfastly towards the goal of making Guyana a better place for all, with peace and unity as my guiding theme. I promise to be a fair and just president, to govern in the interest of all, and to ensure that the legitimate aspirations of our people are respected, and the resources of Guyana must benefit all our people,” he said.
He further declared that Guyana and its peoples have won with the renewal of democracy, and called for all Guyanese to trade partisanship for patriotism in the interest of building our nation.
“It is time for us to cast aside our partisan cloaks…signifying our willingness, commitment and readiness to work hand-in-hand, side-by-side, as we consolidate the gains that have been made over the years,” he said.
Indeed, this should be the approach by the new President and as long as the opposition reciprocates our political future would be filled with optimism.
Of course, the way forward will not be an easy one and this has been acknowledged by President Ramotar.
“This is the only way forward…I do appreciate that this process will not be easy, but I am prepared to work beyond the difficulties to ensure that our country does not regress,” he said.
However, one of the areas which the new administration will have to focus heavily on is local government, because most of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and Municipalities are in a virtual state of dormancy and this has been a result mainly because of the absence of local government elections since 1994. Of course, there were no local government elections because of a stalemate between government and the opposition in arriving at a reformed local government system. This led to the collapse of most of the local government bodies and ensuing deterioration of the quality of service being delivered at the community level.
No doubt, many citizens became highly frustrated which contributed to the high level of voters not exercising their franchise, particularly in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic strongholds resulting in the party not being able to maintain a majority of seats in Parliament.
In any country, local government is a key area, because it is through this sector services are delivered to the people at the grassroots.
It is therefore imperative that the new administration led by President Ramotar works towards revamping and re-energising the local government system to once again make it vibrant and effective.