PNCR leader Robert Corbin last night said the delays in the implementation of key agreements between the government and his party could not be put down to bureaucratic slippage but appeared to be a deliberate tactic of stalling.

But despite his frustration at the rate of implementation of the May 6 communique, Corbin in a televised address said he had not lost hope, as he believed “that good sense will prevail and the sand will be removed from the gears of the Communiqué.”

Corbin last night offered the nation his assessment of the rate of implementation of the decisions reached with President Bharrat Jagdeo in the May 6, communiqué and the Follow-up Agreement on June 18. His speech was recorded before his meeting with President Jagdeo yesterday afternoon at the Office of the President.

The representatives of the two leaders are to meet tomorrow to review the progress and discuss ways of accelerating the pace of implementations.

Corbin said that while there had been progress in some areas, there had been many delays, which could not be classified as mere slippage. “Regrettably, the time and energy spent to obtain the results achieved so far suggest that deliberate efforts are being made to retard implementation.”

Contacted yesterday Information Liaison to the President, Robert Persaud said he had received the speech too late to comment.

Corbin drew attention to President Jagdeo’s failure to follow the constitutionally prescribed procedures for consultation as well as his failure to keep his promises to contact him as he had promised to continue their consultations on the Police Service Commission.

He said, “I remain ready and available for meaningful consultations with the President, albeit, I am scheduled to leave on a short visit to the USA.”

With regard to the June 18 document Corbin drew attention to the failure to set up the monitoring mechanism involving the international donor community, and the yet unexplained absence of President Jagdeo’s representative at the second meeting of the grouping to discuss the issue.

Below are his comments on the various issues addressed in the May 6, communiqué and the June 18, Follow-Up Agreement:

Parliamentary and Constitutional Reforms
“The Parliamentary and Constitutional Reforms in the Communiqué represent an agreement by the parties to implement the provisions of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. These provisions were not only PNCR demands, but were the results of the Constitution Reform Process in which the PPP/C, representatives of Civil Society and the other Parliamentary Parties took part. It should therefore be obvious that when the PNCR insisted on the timely implementation of the Constitutional provisions, it was not only championing its own cause, but that of all those who participated in the work of the Constitutional Reform Commission.

All of the Parliamentary Committees have been appointed and have started working. However, the capacity of the Parliament Office to support the work of the newly established Committees is affected since additional staff has not yet been hired and there is need for undertaking training and orientation of the staff to ensure that they can cope with the challenges of the new committee system.

“This situation is understandable, but it is curious, to say the least, that having regard to this need for training, the Government has refused to accept an offer to expose the Clerk of the National Assembly and two Sector Committee Chairpersons to observe the working of similar systems in the United States of America. The PNCR was requested to and had already submitted, the name of its nominee to participate in such training.

Yet, we are told that the President has directed that no PPP representative be named. Consequently, the programme was cancelled.”

The Provision of Research and Documentation Support for the Work of the Committees
“The Communiqué required that there be provision of research and documentation support for the work of the Committees. Yet, the Research Co-ordinator and two professional Researchers to support the work of the Parliamentary Committees have not yet been hired, and, the bank of six internet-ready computers, which were envisaged in the communiqué, have not yet been purchased and installed. It should be noted that during our discussions the President had instructed in my presence that two internet-ready computers were to be made available immediately and he assured me that they would have been supplied within a week of our discussions.”

Remuneration of MPs and Administrative and Logistical Support for Regional MPs
“The arrangements for the remuneration of MPs and the Administrative and logistical support for Regional MPs has not yet concluded, albeit there has been communication between the parties on this subject. This matter is, however, moving at a snail’s pace.”

Physical Facilities within the Public Buildings
“No real progress has been made with respect to the removal of The Public Utilities Commission from Parliament Buildings, even though they were committed to do so by the end of July 2003. Consequently, the necessary modifications to the physical facilities available at Parliament Building have not been undertaken.”

The Appointive Committee
“The Appointive Committee, identified by the Constitution to facilitate the identification of nominees for the various Commissions, has met and cleared the nominations for the Police Service Commission and the Judicial Service Commission. These nominations were approved by the National Assembly of the Parliament on 26th June 2003. There is therefore no justifiable reason why the consultation required for these two Commissions could not have been completed.”

The Appointment of the Constitutional Commissions
“The Communiqué stated that immediate steps would have been taken, `to have all of the outstanding Constitutional Commissions appointed, including the Service Commissions’.

The nation would recall the well-publicised alleged concern expressed by President Jagdeo over the delay in the appointment of these Commissions. So grave were these alleged concerns that even before the signing of the Communiqué, the President wrote me on March 24, 2003 indicating that he wished to proceed unilaterally because of the absence of a Leader of the Opposition.

I have already explained that the nominations for the Police Service Commission and the Judicial Service Commissions were approved by the National Assembly of the Parliament since 26th June 2003. The only major impediment to their establishment was for the President to engage in meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.

I have always been willing ready and available for such consultations even when the strict constitutional requirements were not met. On the 17th July 2003 I received a nebulous letter from the Head of the Presidential Secretariat dated July 16, stating that the President was formally inviting me, `to consult on the appointment of those members of the respective Commissions which calls for meaningful consultation between himself and the Leader of the Opposition.’

On July 21, I replied directly to the President stating, inter alia, that, ` believe that the constitutional prescription regarding meaningful consultation has not been observed. However, to ensure that our consultation is meaningful, I will insist that those procedures are strictly followed.’

Nevertheless, in the spirit of the Communiqué, I still attended that meeting at the Office of the President on Tuesday 22nd July at 2 PM.

What transpired at that meeting would shock most Guyanese. The simple fact is that, despite an invitation to me to participate in consultations on appointments to the Constitutional Service Commissions, the Office of the President was not fully aware of the Constitutional requirements. By the time this was clarified it became obvious that there was some concern by the President over the present constitutional requirements for the appointment of the Police Service Commission. The President asked for more time to verify the constitutional position.

I reiterated my concern for the urgent appointment of the Police and Judicial Service Commissions and the appointment of Mr. Winston Felix as Commissioner of Police as agreed by my predecessor since April 2002.

At the conclusion of that meeting we agreed that the President would obtain the necessary clarifications and continue proper consultations with me by latest Monday 27th July 2003, before he left for his official visit to Brazil. He never did. I made no public statement and, subsequently, I understood unofficially that he had requested certain discussions in relation to a further amendment of the Constitution as it relates to the Police Service Commission.

In the spirit of the Communiqué, I considered it inappropriate to deal with this matter publicly while he was out of Guyana on official business and decided to await his return to hear these concerns directly from him. In view of these facts you may appreciate my outrage at the statements of the President on his return from Brazil about the spirit of the Communiqué and his remarks about threatening language.”

Establishment of the Ethnic Relations Commission
“You may be wondering what is the position with the other Commissions.

The members of the Ethnic Relations Commission were appointed before the 6th of May. In fact, President Jagdeo and I noted this in the Communiqué and we agreed that the appointment of the Ethnic Relations Tribunal and the establishment of the Secretariat would be facilitated within two months. This deadline was July 6th, 2003.

The Secretariat and Tribunal are not yet established. So my fellow Guyanese, this much-talked about Commission is yet to meet, much more commence its work.”

The Appointment of the Public Procurement Commission
“Five nominees for appointment to the Public Procurement Commission have been submitted by each of the two parties. Both parties submitted the nominations as agreed, along with the Curriculum Vitae for each nominee.

The selection of the nominees to be submitted for the approval of the National Assembly should be based on an objective and transparent system of evaluation.

The PPP/C has argued that the selection and appointment of the Commissioners for the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) should be based on the Standing Orders of the National Assembly for the appointment of Parliamentary Committees. In this case, they contend that the government should be allowed to select three (3) Commissioners and the Opposition two (2), irrespective of the criteria.

The PNCR has argued and maintained that the Public Procurement Commission is a Constitutional Commission, which requires that the members are professionally qualified as specified in the Constitution, and should satisfy considerations of personal integrity. It is obvious, therefore, that the PPP/C’s proposal cannot apply and our expectations are that good sense and reason will prevail.”

Appointment of the Other Constitutional Commissions:
“The appointment of the other Rights Commissions awaits the intervention of the Appointive Committee. However, the functioning of the Rights Commissions would also require the establishment of a single secretariat to service all the commissions. The example of the Ethnic Relation Commission, however, is not a hopeful sign. In addition, the commissions will be meaningless without the establishment of the Tribunal.”

Appointment of the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission
“The President and I have not yet met to discuss the appointment of the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, albeit the Communiqué States that this matter should be urgently completed...”

Implementation of the Decisions of the Bipartisan Committees:

“...The delay and/or tardy non-implementation of these decisions had forced my predecessor to suspend the Dialogue process until the decisions were implemented. An evaluation of the status of these matters may therefore be instructive.”

National Policy on Land and House lots Distribution
“In this regard, only the document on the National Policy on Land and House lots Distribution was laid in the National Assembly by Minister Baksh on the specified date. The PNCR will soon present its comments on this policy paper.”

Local Government Reform
“The joint Committee on Local Government Reform recommenced its work one month late and government is yet to present its response on the Electoral System and on the approach for fiscal allocations for each of the levels of Local Government.”

Depressed Communities Needs
“The Depressed Communities Needs Committee has made its recommendations to the President and the Leader of the Opposition. I wish to emphasise that from the inception I made it clear to the President that I had no desire to alter the original recommendations of the Committee. Neither did I have any objection to the two projects agreed by my predecessor, that is, the Victory Valley Project at Wismar, Linden and the drainage project at Fyrish/Gibraltar on the Corentyne.

As a result of some misrepresentation on this matter, I felt constrained to write President Jagdeo on 20th June 2003 formally indicating to him that the $15M allocated for the Victory Valley project should be immediately released. To date this has not been done but I have been informed by the PNCR’s Co Chairperson, Mr. Clement Corlette, that a visit was made to the area last week and work will commence in seven days time. I await the results.”

Radio Monopoly and Non Partisan Boards
“The President requested a three-week extension for the presentation of the Draft Broadcasting Legislation. I made no political mileage of the delay but requested that the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting be re-constituted promptly. We are still to complete this discussion. The text of the draft Broadcast Legislation has now been circulated but it departs radically from the recommendations of the joint Committee, and the PNCR has already made its views public.”

Equitable Time on the State Media
“The fiasco, which resulted when the PNCR first attempted to test the provisions for equitable time on the State Media, is now well known. The GTV, which had agreed to the right of reply by the PNCR to misinformation peddled by Minister Nadir, on the PNCR’s position with respect to the Public Procurement 2003 Bill, on the programme ‘Let’s Talk’, suddenly reversed its decision and directed the PNCR to consult with the Office of the President.

I was compelled to write to the President and hold further discussions before Mr. James McAllister was finally allowed to reply. However, not before the GTV had replayed Minister Nadir’s programme several times before and then after the PNCR’s broadcast. So much for equitable time in the State Media.

As a result of my raising this matter with President Jagdeo and the subsequent meeting of our representatives, Dr. Luncheon should have submitted proposals for giving effect to the equitable access to the state media by all Parliamentary parties. This should have been submitted since the 25th July 2003. To date there is no explanation as to why this document has not yet been submitted.”

Bauxite Industry and Communities Resuscitation
“Not much progress has been achieved on the agreements relating to the Bauxite Industry and Communities Resuscitation issues as stated in the Communiqué.

Section 5 of the Follow Up Agreement provided for the establishment of a Committee to prepare a Comprehensive development Programme for Region #10.

There has been no feed back as yet on this issue, albeit eight (8) weeks have elapsed since the President committed to have `...a small group to co-ordinate the activities of the relevant Government and other agencies to place in a single document their various development programmes for Region 10.

This document will be presented to the President within six (6) weeks.’

It is possible that some rational explanation could be found for the delays here. What is appalling, however, is that, in spite of the context and spirit of the Communiqué, the Govern-ment proceeded to hand over the Management of Linmine to Omai Gold Mines without even the courtesy of briefing the Opposition of the reasons which made such a decision necessary.”