Latest update May 13th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 06, 2014 News
…prepares for first Civil Society conference
By Zena Henry
“President Donald Ramotar, a vital component of Parliament, must be intimately familiar with the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, especially Chapter II, Article 13 which gives standing to Civil Society Constitutional duties, obligations and responsibilities in participating in the management and Governance of the society.
“The Guyana National Council on Public Policy (GNCPP) hopes therefore that every member of the National Assembly; legislators, have at minimum, a working knowledge of the Constitution, in-particular Article 13 and welcomes officialdom on the part of the rising civil serving agency.”
Dr. Philip Thomas, GNCPP Chairman, pointed out that the Constitution’s Article 13, guarantees Civil Societies that the State is duty-bound to establish an Inclusionary Democracy wherein citizens and their organisations can participate and influence management and decision- making of the State.
President Ramotar, he continued, has established a favourable reputation of consultations with the labour movement, religious, faith-based organizations, the Private Sector and Professional Associations, as testimony to his own acceptance of the status and role of Non-Government Civil Society.
In recent efforts seeking passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, the President made resounding calls upon a collective Civil Society to play their role in ensuring the passage of the Bill. As such, Dr. Thomas seeks the endorsement of the President.
Opposition Leader, David Granger, in an address at an Organization of American States (OAS)-sponsored forum on the Role of Civil Society, participated in the Democratic Governance process and made an unequivocal call for greater participation and representation by Civil Society in managing the body politics. This forum was attended by representatives from government and opposition parties of 14 Caricom States.
Granger’s call was in response to the observation cited in the proposed draft OAS model regulations on strengthening political parties, when he was emphatic about greater action being placed on strengthening Civil Society’s role rather than ‘regulation’ of parties. He also pointed out that Caribbean
Constitutions guaranteed freedom of association and the political system should aim at reinforcing, rather than restricting, that freedom.
A subsequent press release by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) said that Granger, in the case of Guyana, added that a well organized Civil Society has a role to play in addressing the control and abuse of the State media, access to transportation assets, excessive powers of the head of state in the presidential-parliamentary system, and the use of dirty money from the drug trade. The call for officialdom was also made to the political body.
“The GNCPP recalls with respect and appreciation, Finance Minister Ashni Singh’s strident call for a greater and collective Civil Society involvement to foster and promote social programmes aimed at developing Guyana. His remarks were tendered during his address at the opening ceremony of the Guyana Salvation Army Dinner and Social held on December 27, 2013. It was stressed that, “‘nowhere in the world can Government alone confront and overcome all of the challenges faced by a country. Responsible social partners and responsible citizens are an absolutely critical prerequisite, if our country is to achieve what we want of it.’”
Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman on June 12, 2014 was forthright with his views on the nation’s Civil Society role, as he proposed community-level, people-oriented decision-making posited by the Constitutional provision that is Article 13.
Hosting a new Youth Leadership Civil Society group, the Blue Caps, the Speaker is reported as saying: “There should be an inclusive form of governance in Guyana and decision-making processes so that all the different factors and sectors of our society should be factored into the decision-making. I believe that the real decision-making should be made at the bottom. So, we need to devolve more power to the people at the local government level.”
“I’d like to see the power given back to the people. There is too much power centred around Parliament,” he noted. “The real power should go to the peoples of Guyana and the more national aspects should be left to Parliament.”
These views, Thomas said, should resonate within the walls of Parliament and amongst the burgeoning social movement which our Constitution supports.
“Guyana does not have to depend on external directions with respect to the role of Civil Society and its relationship with the political establishment. The two actually need each other if democracy is to be sustained. In that context, the observations of President Jimmy Carter of the United States of America during his visit to Guyana during the period August 11-13, 2004 were instructive as he put forward what he saw as a solution to Guyana’s malignant political crisis.”
“President Carter stated that ‘An independent civil society forum should be created to lead a structured national discussion on a vision for governance of the country to promote reconciliation and as it provides a new approach on what is expected from the political system. I hope civil society will organize itself in a nonpartisan fashion for this purpose.’”
Thomas said that there is abundant evidence that the status of Civil Society, in all its varied manifestations, is either an accepted fact or one to be attained and implemented effectively. The GNCPP, in encouraging Guyana’s traditional and newer CSOs to continue pursuing their objectives, “felt mandated to mobilize and organise these bodies into a National Council.”
The GNCPP has done surveys and outreaches throughout the country over the past decade, as well as representatives of Guyana’s Diaspora.
The Council will be a confederation of CSOs/NGOs with structured executive and management teams. It will reach out to both Parliament and its constituencies. As such, assistance will be offered whenever the needs arise, or when invitations are extended. Council members, such as the GNCPP Think Tank/National Policy Institute can make both its local and overseas consultants available to volunteer expertise in the public interest.
Dr. Thomas highlighted that the soon-to-be-formed Guyana National Civil Society Council will provide a forum within which more profound issues such as the relationship between social movements and political systems, thoughts and barriers to thwart co-operation, will be addressed.
The GNCPP said it is not too early for Guyana’s Civil Society bodies to start thinking of nominations to such a Council, projected for September 2014.
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