Citing the polarising effect on society from government decisions, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) yesterday called on the APNU+AFC administration to make a more concerted effort to build effective coalitions to mitigate the divisions that have arisen
Saying that the intentions of the coalition Government as articulated by President David Granger to create a more secure, fairer and inclusive society are laudable, the GHRA said that realizing them in the context of the most racially-polarised elections in Guyanese history is a distant prospect.
It then cited what it said was poor political decision-making which has led to polarisation. It said that salary increases for Ministers was the most glaring example, the “ill-considered Anti-Terrorism Act the most recent, and the partisan anti-corruption campaign potentially the most explosive”.
It further argued that locating the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) within the Office of the Presidency, however temporarily, was a step in the wrong direction.
“Moreover, public indignation is being continuously fuelled by a steady drip-feed of insinuation, gossip and speculation. Anti-corruption activity appears to be the over-riding Cabinet priority with the Senior Minister of Finance investigating the Guyana Revenue Authority, the junior Minister conducting forensic audits, the Minister of Public Infrastructure ordering enquiries into GPL, the Minister of Housing pursuing Pradoville2, and the Minister of Public Security taking a ‘personal interest’ in the actions of the former Minister of Finance”, the GHRA said.
However justified this campaign, the GHRA said that it is being carried out with little political prudence or impartiality, creating credibility issues that risk jeopardizing successful prosecution or popular satisfaction that justice is being done. GHRA said that the absence in Guyana of the required laws and prosecutorial expertise alone are grounds for tamping down rather than fuelling public expectations.
“Corruption in Guyana has been synonymous with Governments remaining in office for prolonged periods. It has been encouraged, furthermore, by a political system in which accountability is rudimentary. The laudable goal of addressing widespread corruption in the society, therefore, cannot be reduced to pursuit of scampish individuals. A wise and constructive anti-corruption campaign would address both preventative (i.e. political) measures to strengthen systems as well as prosecutorial measures to punish perpetrators. What we are currently witnessing falls short of this prescription”, the GHRA said.
In light of the polarised context and limited capacity, a better effort to build effective coalitions seems to be required, the GHRA said.
It pointed out that Article 13 of the Constitution is frequently identified as providing authority for inclusive, participatory decision-making. GHRA said that the real challenge is finding ways of making participation work. In this respect, civil society has been remiss in failing to propose how Article 13 might be operationalised, the GHRA said.
It said that the proposed mechanism employed by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) which brings together Government, the extractive industry and civil society is one such example. GHRA said that a similar formula of bringing Government Agencies, representatives of the relevant sector along with representatives from civil society could be tested in many other areas of public life.
SARU, for example, could be separated from the Office of the President and given an impartial Board of Directors selected by a formula that brings the three sectors together: State, technical and civic to re-assure all types of opinion and secure effective results.
