GCCI’s proposal for Guyana’s development is encouraging

Dear Editor,

Any conversation that seeks to improve our system of governance and create a more inclusive and prosperous environment for the citizens is encouraging. I see such an effort in the address delivered last Thursday by Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) in marking the organisation’s 130th anniversary.

Having read Stabroek News’ coverage surrounding the presentation, I applaud the 10-point proposal for the development of Guyana in what the organisation believes “… will address the major structural issues in our economy” (SN: 29/11/19).

In many respects, the 10 points contain elements not unlike that of the Guyana Trades Union Congress’ (GTUC) 19-point agenda presented to the nation, President David Granger and Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo in March of this year. There is conversion of interest to realise a better Guyana which communicates that even in diversity there is commonality. Identifying common ground is a human strength in building synergies which we must capitalise on.

The above being said, the opportunity is taken to address the areas on Governance in the presentation as reported.

1. A “split of Parliament [into] a lower and upper house, with the lower house being elected at local government elections.” This is something new. There exists uncertainty how the proposed structure could work in our system of National, Regional and Local Government. At the legislative level, members, though coming from a single list, are elected under two criterion, i.e. the National and Regional components where the latter are the representatives of the respective 10 administrative regions, with two coming from each region. The GTUC has proposed that the Representation of the People Act be amended to allow for such members to be directly elected from the people in the respective region. In the case of the Caribbean where countries have a lower and upper house, members of the upper house, which is referred to as the Senate, secure their seats through appointment not election. In the United States, these members are elected.

2. “Limiting powers of the president to a constitutional function such as in Trinidad and Tobago, and placing the executive functions with the Prime Minister.” Unlike Trinidad and Tobago, where sovereignty resides in the Crown, in Guyana, sovereignty is vested in the people as stipulated by the Constitution. Our Republic is unlike Trinidad and more mirrors a model similar to the US where the president is Head of Government and Head of State.

The Trinidad model would mean taking away sovereignty from the people and making them subjects of the Crown. The President in Trinidad has non-executive duties as a result of a governance structure where the Crown (i.e. the United Kingdom) is the Head of State and the Prime Minister the Head of Government. Trinidad’s President is the Crown’s local representative and functions on behalf of the Queen.

3. “Changing the structure of ministries so that the permanent secretaries are in charge of operations, and ministers are in charge of policy and direction.” This structure currently exists. What has been happening is that successive governments, private agencies and citizens have not allowed it to work. On many occasions, businesses and citizens entice and encourage politicians to undermine the structure in pursuit of self-interest. What we may need is strong oversight institutions, inclusive of severe penalties, to serve as deterrence to its undermining.

There is agreement in improving “the judicial system through increased training for police prosecutors, and IT system implementation.” On GECOM structure, when it was implemented, it was intended to be temporary not permanent; and on term limits for constitutional office holders, such is not beyond review.

The media did not elaborate on the other nine points in the proposal and efforts will be made to secure a copy. The fact that Deygoo-Boyer has used the public space to speak to these issues is commendable and he is being encouraged to continue the dialogue.

Yours faithfully,

Lincoln Lewis