Commonwealth envoy to help spark resumption of political dialogue
Stabroek News
August 27, 2002
Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has appointed Sir Paul Reeves as his special envoy to Guyana to help facilitate the resumption of dialogue between President Bharrat Jagdeo and PNC/R leader, Desmond Hoyte.
Judith Pestaina and Kosi Latu are his assistants.
Sir Paul is presently in Guyana and yesterday had talks with President Jagdeo. Sir Paul told Stabroek News that he intends to talk to all the major players. However, up to yesterday morning Hoyte was unaware of Sir Paul's arrival in Guyana. The envoy expects to leave by the end of the week.
Sir Paul is a former Archbishop of New Zealand who served as Governor General from 1985-90. In 1994, according to a Commonwealth Secretariat re-lease, he was Deputy Leader of the Commonwealth Observer Group to the South African elections and leader of the Commonwealth Group, which observed the 1996 elections in Ghana. Also, the release said, Sir Paul chaired the Fiji Constitutional Review Commission from 1995-1997.
The release announcing Sir Paul's appointment said that the Secretary-General, following meetings he had here in July with President Jagdeo and Hoyte, has remained in touch with them and has been following the recent developments in the country.
The release said, "both have welcomed the appointment of Sir Paul Reeves as Special Envoy", but Hoyte told Stabroek News yesterday that it was President Jagdeo who had asked for the appointment of a facilitator. However, he said that he was willing to courteously receive anyone who was appointed.
Hoyte made clear his position last week at a Congress Place press conference that he would be prepared to resume the dialogue once the government had implemented the decisions already taken by himself and President Jagdeo. Until then, he said that he was unwilling to discuss if a facilitator should be appointed and whether that person should or should not be a non-Guyanese.
Among decisions, which the PNC/R wanted implemented are the electrification of De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara, the drafting of new broadcast legislation and representation of the PNC/R on all the boards of government agencies.
The government, several months after the identification of the electrification of the community as a priority project, announced that work could not have commenced until the area had been regularised. However, last month it announced that the poles and lines were in place and it was for the residents to obtain the necessary documentation to indicate their homes had been properly wired and that they were the owners of the building on the land.
The PNC/R has said though that the priority projects were not meant to be the only ones to be implemented to improve the conditions of the depressed communities but were intended to be part of a programme of activities to address the conditions in areas identified as depressed by the joint committee on depressed communities.
The government announced, too, that the recommendations agreed with Hoyte that were to be included in the new broadcast legislation were with the Attorney-General's Chambers. Last week President Jagdeo announced that the legislation was part of the government's legislative programme it would be enacting during the rest of this year and most of next year.