PNC/R says Guyana's progress relies on radical reform of governance
Stabroek News
July 7, 2002
The opposition PNC/R has emphasised that progress for Guyana relies on a radical reform of the system of governance, revitalisation of key national institutions, and a reduction in the causes of ethnic grievances and perceptions of injustice.
At the party's weekly press conference last Thursday, PNC/R chairman, Robert Corbin, threw out a challenge, on behalf of the PNC/R, to the ruling PPP/Civic to demonstrate that it was serious about the future of Guyana by implementing the many decisions made in the past dialogue process.
He said this would provide the atmosphere for all parties, including political parties in opposition and members of civil society, to undertake the task of drawing up an agenda for the future.
He stated that important questions to be answered for the future of the country were:
1. What is the best way of creating a society in which every Guyanese is confident that the rule of law applies to everyone irrespective of race, social status, religious belief, gender or physical or other disability?
2. How best to achieve a future in which every Guyanese feels safe and is secure in the knowledge that everyone is provided with an equal opportunity to be involved and to participate in activities that affect their livelihoods and the lives of their families?
Corbin said the PNC/R was convinced that the dialogue was going nowhere so the position of active non-cooperation with government was taken. He said this position would remain, together with the cessation of dialogue, until such time as there was clear evidence of the willingness and capacity of government to deal with the PNC/R in a constructive manner.
Corbin said one of the deep regrets of the PNC/R is that some of the issues the party proposed for consensual treatment and resolution have been ignored by the government resulting in the undermining of the governmental process and the continuation of pervasive bad governance.
"We are satisfied that a consensual solution which took on board our sincere and thoughtful proposals and recommendations may well have helped Guyana avoid some of the pitfalls in which we are now engulfed," he said.
Corbin said there was unlikely to be any change in the PPP/C and its approach to governance.
He pointed out that the primary responsibility of government was to create an atmosphere that will provide for a unified society that realised the full potential of Guyana but he expressed despair that the future looked more and more uncertain.
"We believe that the PPP subscribes to a concept and a definition of democracy that never and cannot include participation, involvement and inclusion," he stated.
Corbin said the PNC/R believed that the implementation of its proposals would give Guyana the chance of reversing the downward slide and pledged his party's support to work assiduously to achieve the objectives.