RECENT events of the No-Confidence motion and the aftermath, as well as the appointment of the chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, raised serious questions about the need for more robust education of citizens about our Constitution.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo only recently spoke of this need and acknowledged that even Members of Parliament “didn’t understand what it takes to remove a government, whether it should be a confidence motion or No-Confidence Motion, whether it should be 33 votes or 32 votes, whether it should be a simple majority or an absolute majority, and we sit there as the fathers and mothers of the national assembly and we didn’t know this.”
The Guyana Constitution is the instrument that has to be used in determining and guiding governance, and how we, as citizens, interact with and treat each other. The constitution is the nation’s supreme law, made explicit in Article 8, which expressly states: “This Constitution is the supreme law of Guyana and, if any other law is inconsistent with it, that other law, to the extent of its inconsistency, (is to) be (made) void”. It is for this reason that citizens are required to acquaint themselves with what lies within the Guyana Constitution.

There is a notion that a constitution is for lawyers. This perception couldn’t be further from the truth. A constitution guides the day-to-day behaviour and life of every government and citizen. It is written in a manner the average person can understand in order that she/he can conform to its requirements, challenge any who seeks to deny him/her their constitutional rights, or depart from what is constitutionally enshrined.

There is a section in the constitution identified as Title 1, which speaks to the “Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual”. Among its provisions are the right to life, personal property and freedom of expression. Being conscious of these rights, it is important that citizens seek to have them respected and protected. If one is unaware of his/her rights and freedoms, then one can subject himself/herself to accept being treated with contempt, or can easily be denied.

While it is the individual’s responsibility to know what is enshrined in the constitution, there is a corresponding responsibility of the State to make sure that citizens are knowledgeable of /educated on what is in this instrument, and have access to a copy. Prior to independence, “British Constitution” was taught as a subject in schools, even though Britain does not have a written constitution. This knowledge/access was an opportunity for persons coming through the school system to be conscious of the Westminster system of government; understand their rights and freedoms, roles and responsibility as part of the acculturation process to being ‘good’ British subjects.

With post-republican status, Guyana, in 1980, promulgated its own constitution, in which there are a number of indigenous articles pertinent to the nation’s geography, diversity, political realities and aspirations. Unfortunately, citizens of this nation have never been given the opportunity to acquire knowledge of the constitution through open, frank and honest discourse. Instead, constitutional conversation continues to be dominated by selective calls for enforcement simultaneously with condemnations from both influential and rank-and-file persons. If truth be told, much has not been done as a matter of national policy to educate citizens on the constitution, which would create awareness of rights and responsibilities that would allow for holding oneself and others so accountable.

Further, the State shoulders a responsibility to facilitate every citizen in his/her quest to acquire education and information. The best place to start would be in the classroom, by having the Constitution become part of the nation’s education curriculum as a subject and/or text.

The conversations on good governance as a perquisite to development would be enhanced when the constitution is factored in from a position of knowledge, since it would add substance to the discourse. Such an approach would inform any decision-making on whether to maintain, amend and/ or discard the constitution in whole or part. It should be said that Guyana is not singular in calling for constitutional reform, yet it becomes important to recognise the life of a constitution is determined when it is being applied or put to work, and of which knowledge judicious application and adherence are pivotal.