In many ways, the aftermath of the May 11th general election is reminiscent of the atmosphere after the return to democracy in 1992. Ministers bustled into action in numerous directions with a flurry of promises. There was boundless enthusiasm for cleaning up the city, self-help efforts burgeoned and community groups mushroomed across the country. The interim body put in charge of the city was flooded with offers of help from prominent businesses and there was great optimism about what the future held. The easiest of all the challenges for the new APNU+AFC administration will be to maintain the clean-up that has been initiated with great gusto in Georgetown and up and down the coastal strip. After all, it won’t be a good sign if the administration is unable to sustain what has begun by empowering local councils and communities and ensuring that adequate resources are devolved unto them.
In the months ahead, the challenges will be many and President Granger and his coalition government will come under even more intense scrutiny than its predecessor. The reason being that the Jagdeo years have imbued the public with a fevered desire for clean, accountable and fair governance where cronyism is extirpated, where jobs for the boys and girls no longer exist and where the primacy of the rule of law is upheld. The Jagdeo years and the last three Ramotar years in particular also elicited in even greater measure sonorous denunciations of bad governance, poor policies and broken promises by both of the main constituents of the current coalition government: APNU and the AFC.
A high standard has therefore been laid down by these two groups even before entering office and the public’s expectations are similarly stratospheric. There will therefore be little public sympathy or leeway for this government if it is abjectly incapable, if it constantly makes improbable excuses or is seen to be slipping into the bad habits of its predecessors. There will be no quarter given by the nearly half of the voters that voted against it and the other half won’t rest easy.
On social media platforms in particular, every action will be examined by the public with a critical eye and the administration will know very quickly where and when it has been found wanting. There are two early commitments which will test the coalition government. The first is the Cummingsburg Accord which laid the foundation for a pre-electoral alliance between APNU and the AFC and the 100 days plan which was contained in its manifesto. In its construct, the Cummingsburg Accord will go down in the post-Independence history of this country as one of the more important expressions of a political alliance across deep divides and agonising pasts. It set out how mature compromises could be arrived at. The first of these was, of course, the agreement by the AFC to support the candidature of David Granger as President. In return, among other things, APNU conceded the prime ministership and that the holder of this office would chair cabinet meetings. The document didn’t attach conditions to the chairing or further clarify this matter. However, stripped of obtuse interpretations and considering that it was meant to be a straightforward document accessible to the masses there could only have been one interpretation i.e. that Prime Minister Nagamootoo would be chairing Cabinet meetings. President Granger has already convened and chaired two Cabinet meetings, the first informal and the second formal.
In the goodwill that has infused this period, few would have punctiliously challenged the President over this matter. However, there are three disconcerting issues. The first is that neither President Granger nor the several very vocal public relations gurus enlisted by the administration saw it fit to explain to the people why this apparent breach had occurred. There could have been any number of good reasons. For example, the President wanting the opportunity to deliver a charter setting address or the PM deferring to him in his own deliberate judgement. Whatever the reasons no one saw it fit to explain to the public. Consequently, it would not be unreasonable for the average citizen to wonder about the prospects of this alliance if so soon and on such a crucial issue it appeared to be rolling back the commitments it had made and which commitments formed a covenant between the coalition and the people on voting day. Third, President Granger would be well aware that there is great scepticism in the public about the reliability and intent of the main constituent of APNU, the PNCR, of which he is also leader, given its own benighted past at the helm of this country. For all these reasons and more there is no room so early in the life of the coalition for unnecessary missteps and silence about them.
Similarly, in the 100-day programme, there should be a rolling accounting by the administration for each of the various commitments and a timetable for delivery or an explanation as to why there should be a deferral. Four measures would be carefully awaited by the public: salary increases for public servants, a hike in old-age pensions, a reduction of VAT and the lowering of the toll to cross the Berbice Bridge.
In each dismissal in the public sector, each disciplining or adjustment to terms of service, there must be fair play and clear intent by this administration to ensure due process. In each post that becomes vacant or is created in the public service establishment, it must be evident that such positions are open to the most able and filled on that basis. Occupation of these positions mustn’t be seen as rewards or entitlement.
While it is also advisable for the government to engage with all stakeholders including those it may have been at odds with while in opposition, it must be careful not to fall into the same client relationship that would undermine its credibility and leave it compromised.
Too many years of this country’s independent life have elapsed without substantial progress because of the debilitating power games that have been played by politicians. May 11th was meant to change that. The public is anxiously awaiting this transformation.
