Dear Editor,
If one looks at the main constitutions of the nations in the British Commonwealth, one struggles to find any case for the executive to have unlimited powers or unfettered access to these kinds of powers so that the executive can use them to undermine Parliament’s ability to represent the people who elected them. After all, who will hold the executive branch to account if not the legislative branch?
Since July 2014, the Ramotar regime has been spending billions with no checks and balances in place from the legislative branch. The PPP is the judge, jury and executioner on all expenditures, all decisions and all acts on behalf of the people using taxpayers’ money. If that is not a dictatorship of the few on the backs of the many, what is?
The prorogation issue exposed how negligent the Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) was when they were given the chance to reform the Burnham constitution. The CRC left many oppressive clauses in place. The sad truth remains that some of the most reputable minds sat on that commission. This is why I can never trust the so-called brilliant men of the PPP and PNC; they did exactly what they wanted with the CRC – emasculated it to produce a bastardized constitution that was stillborn from day one.
One of the few minds that has consistently led the struggle for a new constitution which represents the will and voice of the people has been Mr Nigel Hughes. For his wisdom on this issue, he deserves our appreciation. Guyana does not need another round of reputable men around a table greasing the machinery to produce another defective constitution. What Guyana really needs is a new constitution that represents the will and voice of the ordinary people.
Simple: would voter Karamchand Ramdass from Albion want the executive President of Guyana to have the power to prorogate Parliament? If not, who should have that power? Would voter Charles Bynoe from Linden want an executive President or a titular President? These are the kind of bottom-up thoughts which have to supply the leverage next time around. We do not need the so-called smart men of the PPP and PNC to make these decisions for us any more.
With recent developmentd, where President Ramotar has been found to have abused his office and his power with the prorogation of the National Assembly, firm action has to be taken. We as a people must reduce the ambiguity of that constitution by burying it once and for all. In its place, let us allow a document to blossom that will further democratize our parliamentary government.
This nation continues to suffer from PPP imposed authoritarianism but there is nothing on the law books of Guyana that protects the people from a similar dose of APNU/PNC authoritarianism next week or next year. I encourage the ordinary voters to not drink any soup from the politicians who tell us that there is little wrong with the current constitution. That soup has political poison. I encourage the Guyanese people to reject all political parties that cannot clearly commit to a new constitution with timelines, deadlines and a clear roadmap outlining how they will facilitate the creation of a new constitution within 12 months of the elections.
Yours faithfully,
Sase Singh
