Presenting the paper at a formal ceremony at State House, Georgetown, he alluded to the post-independence politics in Guyana which he said has been characterised by "a lack of trust between the two main political parties despite the determined efforts of the PPP and the PPP/C".

"Recently, executive power sharing has been proposed as a solution to Guyana's problems (but) quite apart from the negative consequences associated with executive power sharing such as the institutionalisation of ethnic rivalry and the absence of political opposition, no contrived system of governance will succeed in a situation where trust and good faith do not exist between the political parties," President Jagdeo said.

According to the Guyanese Head of State, the PPP/C believes that a conscious effort is required by the major political parties to build trust and establish confidence.

"Without such trust, suspicion will continue, motives will be questioned, policies will be judged on distorted criteria, resource allocation will always be followed by allegations of partisanship and agreements will be difficult to be arrived at," Mr. Jagdeo stated.

He said, too, that it is not even possible at this time to sign a crime communiqué as proposed by the `Social Partners' group.
DIPLOMATS and others at the presentation.
DIPLOMATS and others at the presentation.
The President said the PPP/C proposes the implementation of all the constitutional reforms as an immediate measure to building trust and to further enhance inclusive governance.

In this regard, he said the parties will be required to collaborate on:

** the appointment of the Rights Commissions;

** the appointment of the Parliamentary Management Committee;

** the appointment of the Service Commissions; and

** the appointment of the Standing Committees.

"The establishment of these and other bodies provided for in the Constitution and their optional functioning will generate confidence and increasing co-operation and goodwill," President Jagdeo asserted.

He told the gathering which included Government Ministers, members of Cabinet, members of the PPP/C, members of the Diplomatic Community, and representatives of the business community, private sector and labour (including members of the `Social Partners' group) that the PPP/C will expand on these efforts by encouraging broader co-operation by all forces in the society involved in public affairs, particularly the political parties.

These collaborative efforts would include:

** establishing means and facilities to enhance the work of Members of Parliament and strengthening their ability to present their views in legislative matters and to represent their constituents.

** Improving the discourse between Government and Opposition through the appointment of Shadow Cabinet Ministers who can represent their views on policy to the Government and be apprised of policy developments by the Government.

** Improving ties between the political parties through discussions and debates which will also contribute to building confidence.

** Devising additional ways and means of working closer together in a non-partisan way at the local government level where national political controversies generate less divisions and where development and implementation issues give rise to the possibility of greater co-operation in the short-term.

"These measures are vital for our political development and the emergence of a new political culture characterised by greater trust, civility and commitment to the national interest," Mr. Jagdeo said.

He said, too, that the PPP/C is encouraged by recent pronouncements by the main Opposition People's National Congress Reform (PNC/R) "which indicate a commitment for constructive engagement".

"We hope that these engagements will result in the acceptance of these and other proposals to solve national issues, to build trust and to improve relations between our political parties. In an environment created by deepening trust and confidence, further arrangements for inclusive governance can result after consultation with our constituents and the electorate," President Jagdeo added.

He said although many persons would ask why this paper on governance and why now, the answer was simple. He explained that for sometime now the leaders of the party and government have been speaking about their positions in public, but although these positions are clear in many ways, a number of people had still approached him and, as a matter of some friendly advice, "they have said that the government needs to put together all of these positions in one document".

"So we have decided to put our position in a paper (and) I would wish that we analyse this paper and its contents, not simply as an event, because inclusive governance is an issue which is a process and that's why the structure of this paper deals with a process and starts with an historical perspective - it shows the PPP/Civic positions over the years to today," Mr. Jagdeo said.

"The only reason why we are going back into history is not that we are stuck in the past, as some people like to say, but because we want to show the process, the evolution of our positions and the consistency of our line," he added.

Tracing the party's longstanding commitment to constitutional reform and good governance, President Jagdeo noted that the PPP was established in 1950 as a multi-ethnic organisation with the aim of winning independence and achieving social justice for all the people of then British Guiana.

The founders of the PPP were convinced of the need for such a party to involve the broad masses for a successful challenge to colonialism and to improve the quality of life of the people, he said.

The President recalled that in August 1999 when he was sworn in as President of Guyana, he extended "a hand of friendship to those who are in opposition and invite(d) them to sit with us and iron out differences so that we can have a common cause to serve - a cause in service to our people and nation".

"It is critical that we engage one another in dialogue. We should always reach out and talk to each other. In this way, we would be fulfilling the mandate of all Guyanese as we share our differing views in the search for national consensus on the common objective of making this country a better place for all."

General Secretary of the PPP and PPP/C Member of Parliament, Mr. Donald Ramotar, in a brief presentation said, "those of you who know our country very well and know our history would realise that this...our position on the whole question of inclusive governance, has been one of the main pillars and at the foundation of the People's Progressive Party".

He noted that even before that the PPP was formed, the party's foundation - the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) which was founded in 1946 by Dr Cheddi Jagan and his wife Janet Jagan, Ashton Chase and Joyclyn Hubbard - had as their main goal "to unite the Guyanese people to fight for independence and for social justice for all our people".

"And indeed we have recorded some great successes. The founding of the party in 1950 gave the ordinary people a voice in the affairs of our country.

"It also allowed them to win for the first time the right to cast their vote," Ramotar told the gathering.

He said that since then a lot has happened including "attempts to divide our people in an effort to prevent a united struggle to build a strong and prosperous Guyana".

"The record would show that the PPP has fought tirelessly to try and build unity among our people and to try to win better positions for our people in every area," he said.

He said, too, that since the "engineered split" in the PPP in 1955 (to PPP and PNC), there has been "enormous suspicion and enormous distrust which has developed within the forces of our country".

"Today in recognition of that political reality, we have decided that it is important for us to put our positions to the public so that everyone would be clear on where we stand on the various issues," the PPP General Secretary said.

According to him, "fifty years ago we managed to forge the unity of our people and we achieved a lot and I think one of the best ways to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first freely elected government of this country is to once again build that unity for us to advance our country to realise its full potential."