The opposition PNCR yesterday participated in a meeting of the Committee of Selection of the National Assembly which will pave the way for the appointment of the long-delayed constitutional service commissions.
The meeting led to the constituting of the vital Appointments Committee which will now begin the process of identifying nominees for the Public Service, Police, Judicial and Teaching Service commissions.
Observers say yesterday’s move promises to break a year-long political impasse which has seen the four public sector commissions lapse. It could also result in the establishment of key parliamentary committees as set out in constitutional reforms aimed at more inclusive governance.
The Speaker Ralph Ramkarran SC chairs the committee. The members are Ministers Clinton Collymore, Navin Chanderpal, Gail Teixeira, Leslie Ramsammy, Anthony Xavier and Jennifer Westford for the PPP/C; Vincent Alexander, Deryck Bernard, James McAllister and Clarissa Riehl for the PNCR; and Sheila Holder for GAP/WPA. The PNCR explained its attendance as being in accordance with its declaration on Thursday that it would foil any attempt by the government to act unilaterally in setting up the commissions.
PNCR leader Robert Corbin told reporters at Congress Place yesterday afternoon, “In so far as the service commissions are concerned there is a procedure which has to be followed and the Appointments Committee will have to follow certain constitutional procedures. We have made sure effectively today that the government cannot move unilaterally. They will have to seek agreement of the PNCR in anything they do as it relates to the service commissions”.
The PNCR also tabled its nominations to the parliamentary sector committees on economic services, social services, natural resources and foreign relations, and the parliamentary management committee. It wants all these committees to be established at the same time as the Appointments Committee. The composition of sector committees is still a source of dispute.
The Appointments Com-mittee will consult with the relevant interest groups on behalf of the parliament for their nominees to the Public Service Commission, the Teaching Service Commis-sion, the Police Service Commission and the Judicial Service Commission. The lives of these commissions expired more than a year ago and their re-establishment was delayed by the political impasse between the government and the parliamentary opposition on the composition of the parliamentary management committee and the parliamentary sector committees.
Last week the government announced its intention to go ahead with the establishment of the commissions since it did not appear that the parliamentary opposition was prepared to participate in the process at this time.
Corbin yesterday des-cribed the government announcement as “political brinkmanship”.
“The government can’t go ahead unilaterally to establish any service commission. There has to be consultation according to the constitution. Even the parliament cannot unilaterally establish the service commissions. The parliament must consult meaningfully with several organisations in Guyana.... To say that the government is moving unilaterally is meaningless unless they intend to breach the provisions of the constitution.”
The sector committees were created by recent amendments to the constitution based on the recommendations of the Constitution Reform Commission that Ramkarran chaired. The parliamentary management committee is a recommendation of the 1998 St Lucia Statement, which was not adopted for implementation until the Jagdeo/Hoyte dialogue process. There appears to be broad agreement on the constituting of this committee and this could proceed soon.
Corbin said that the PNCR’s position had always been “that the approach to the (establishment of the) Parliamentary Standing Committees should be holistic and therefore all the Standing Committees should be appointed together.”
“The government has asked for the meeting (of the Committee of Selection) to continue next Wednesday at which time we expect they will provide their nominees for the other Standing Committees of the Parliament and so by that time we will see whether the manoeuvring (still continues) and the good faith still exists.”
Yesterday’s meeting was re-scheduled from last Friday after the PNCR pointed out to the government that it was being called at short notice (a day and half) and that it had not followed the usual practice of consulting with the opposition when it wanted an urgent meeting so that a mutually convenient date could be agreed.
Corbin said the PNCR had been attending meetings of the Committee of Selection and that committee appointed the Public Accounts Committee, which had been meeting “and we have never been reluctant to make recommendations to any of the Standing Committees of parliament”. He said that the government probably expected his party’s representatives would have stayed away from yesterday’s meeting because of its announcement last week that it would thwart any unilateral action.
Corbin pointed out that his party objected to the government’s attempt to set up the committees selectively. The government recently came around to the opposition’s view that no minister should sit on the sector committees because of the rule of collective responsibility which makes them each responsible for the actions and decisions of each other. However, in return for adopting the parliamentary opposition’s contention, the government wants it to agree to an increase in the number of technocratic ministers that can be appointed. It wants the opposition to agree to an amendment to the constitution that would increase the number of technocratic ministers from four to ten.
Late Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte turned down a quite similar proposal during the dialogue process with President Bharrat Jagdeo before he broke off the talks. Observers say it is likely to receive the same reaction from Corbin and the other opposition party leaders who believe that the number of ministries should be cut back to eleven.