TUC backs PNCR shared governance proposal
Stabroek News
February 11, 2003
The PNCR yesterday received support for its shared governance proposal when it met with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) executive council.
The meeting with the TUC was the first of a series the party has embarked on to spark debate and support for its proposal for a new system of multi-party participation in decision-making at the level of the Cabinet.
PNCR parliamentarian, James McAllister who was accompanied by Hamley Case Sherwood Lowe and Joe Hamilton, led the delegation, which met the TUC executive council. Among those present for the TUC were Carvil Duncan, President, Andrew Garnett, Lincoln Lewis, Grantley Culbard, Charles Sampson, Roy Hughes, and Seelo Baichan.
The meeting took place at the TUC's Woolford Avenue headquarters.
In assuring the PNCR of his organisation's support, Lewis, the TUC's general secretary, recalled that the TUC had put forward its own shared governance proposal as far back as 1978 to a Constituent Assembly and continues to support such a proposition for improving the governance of the country.
He said that the TUC still holds the position, which informed its 1978 proposal that no one-party government could run the country successfully and the late Dr Cheddi Jagan endorsed its position when he urged the TUC in 1984 to press for the adoption of the 1978 proposal.
But he urged the PNCR to support amending the Constitution to make the regional administrations autonomous as a way of encouraging the Guyanese electorate to use other than racial considerations when voting at elections.
Lewis made his comments in response to observations by Sampson, President of the Guyana Bauxite Supervisors Union that the discussions on shared governance would go nowhere. However, he said that more effort should be made to make the regional administrations autonomous, as was the original intention when it was introduced.
Sampson had observed that if the regional administrations were in sole control of their region the electorate would be able to compare the efficiency and effectiveness of the parties running these administrations and so base their votes on these considerations at the elections.
To comments by Sampson that shared governance would not be introduced, Case said that it would be up to the Guyanese people to pressure the government for its introduction. He also said the donor community endorsed the proposal but Lewis questioned the sincerity of their support.
On Saturday, President Bharrat Jagdeo laid out his government's position on governance. He rejected the concept of executive power sharing and said the PPP/C administration believed that a conscious effort must be made to build trust between the parties otherwise suspicion will continue and policies will be judged on distorted criteria. He added that "in an environment created by deepening trust and confidence, further arrangements for inclusive governance can result after consultation with our constituents and the electorate".
Responding to comments made on his presentation of the PNCR's proposal, McAllister asserted that he was sure that the Guyanese public would opt for the introduction of shared governance for whatever period seeing it as preferable to the system, which obtained at the present time.
He remarked in answer to those who counsel implementation of the recent amendments to the constitution, that the PNCR supported their implementation but also believed that the changes did not go far enough. He contended that what was need were not measures to ensure the country's survival but measures to make it competitive. He answered, too, the concerns raised by Clerical and Commercial Workers' Union general secretary, Grantley Culbard, about the need for the creation of trust and confidence as a pre-condition for the changes the PNCR wanted to introduce.
McAllister pointed out that what was needed was the political will and accommodation to introduce the system, explaining that once the concept was agreed, the process of working out the details would engender the trust and confidence between the parties as they put the interest of Guyana above partisan interests. Lewis observed too that what was necessary was a recognition that the two parties had to work together.
Hamilton said that there should be a programme of public education and information to enhance appreciation of the concept, which the PNCR intended to generate by criss-crossing the country talking to various communities and organisations about the issue. He alleged that opponents of the concept avoid informing people that the system works in other countries including Scandin-avia He observed that whether it was the PPP or PNCR is office there would always be a significant section of the society under the current system that would feel excluded.
To other comments about the need for local government reform, McAllister said far-reaching proposals that dealt with financing and other resource allocation issues were in the pipeline for local government reform.
He said the party was also looking at ways of complementing the work of the government in dealing with the depressed communities, inclusivity and reorganisation of the party to enable it to better respond to the circumstances of the day. (Patrick Denny)
