By Dr Bertrand Ramcharan
Seventh Chancellor of the University of Guyana
The world has changed and is changing still, before our very eyes. Global strategists are asking the question: How should governance change to meet the new times we are living in? A correspondent in the Stabroek News on 15 June asked the question, “where is the vision for the country in 2030? What will it look like? What are you aiming for?” We had this issue in mind when we recently highlighted “Irfaan Ali’s Vision for Guyana.”
Projecting a national vision will require us to take account of the global pandemic, the widespread floods, inequalities, the continuing political strife and the new energy resources. These issues are inter-related and must be viewed together.
Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation at the University of Oxford offers some guidance in his highly regarded new book, Rescue: From Global Crisis to a Better World. He argues that the Covid-19 pandemic has defined a new era: for the first time, the world is sharing the same crisis experience at the same time. While this is happening, in Guyana, the country has access to unprecedented new resources but is suffering from a lack of political consensus on governance. A potent mix.
Goldin suggests that Covid-19 may have created the moment when humans look around themselves and realize that we are all in this together. Humanity needs rescuing since it is on the road to ruin. National policies are producing more woes for the woeful and more wealth for the wealthy. Rising inequality could lead to populism and protectionism, accelerating a vicious cycle of slower growth and more inequality.
Globally, failure to radically reform the system and bolster cooperation will lead to future pandemics, rising geopolitical tensions, escalating risks of war, exacerbated climate change and environmental disasters, undermining of democracy, rising debt, and crises in mental health. However, at the same time, the pandemic could open a window of opportunity for rescuing humanity in three ways: first, it has altered citizens’ views on the status quo and what is possible and necessary. Priorities concerning careers, education, family and community have changed.
Second, the pandemic has nurtured social solidarity. People want change. There has been an outpouring of volunteerism and a seismic shift in citizens demanding that governments intervene against unbridled market forces. Third, the pandemic situation has freed up governments to pursue innovative policies. Central banks have financed the costs of the pandemic. Professor Goldin suggests that among the solutions for the future governments should invest more in education, infrastructure and industry. This may be the moment when we reshape our individual and collective destiny and in doing so rescue humanity from catastrophe.
Mark Carney, until recently the Governor of the Bank of England, has just published another highly regarded book, Value(s). Building a Better World for All, in which he argues that in the post-pandemic world we need to reinforce seven core values: solidarity, fairness, responsibility, resilience, sustainability, dynamism, and humility. These are all values that we would do well to prioritise as we set about the task of tracing a vision for the new Guyana: solidarity and fairness for all; and humility in governance.
As Carney puts it: “Humility matters. It matters because it is an attitude to leading and governing…Humility allows us to set goals before we know all the answers….If we are humble, we can recognise that answers can be found through processes that will bring them out through debate, considering different perspectives and forging consensus….Being humble is recognising that we are custodians of our companies, communities and countries. And that all are equal within.”
As we seek to trace a new vision for Guyana, we will need to have in view the dimensions of the pandemic, the recent catastrophic flooding, inequalities, continuing political strife, and the new-found resources from oil and gas. We need urgently a statement on solidarity in the era of the pandemic and after. Such a statement, to begin with, could come from civil society. Government can benefit from the inputs of civil society on this issue.
We urgently need a major policy pronouncement from Government on how to tackle the phenomenon of flooding in the future. Here also, a blueprint from civil society could help the Government think through the issues. We need to draw upon the best minds in the country and these reside inside and outside of Government.
Everyone recognizes that poverty and inequality remain widespread in the country. We urgently need a “Marshall Plan” to tackle poverty and inequality. Or shall we say an “Irfaan Ali Plan?” Such an Action Plan should address the following issues as a minimum: First, advancing justice in all sectors of governance and society. The Yale political philosopher, Ian Shapiro, wrote a magisterial book, Democratic Justice. Let justice be for, of, and by the people. The Guyana Bar Association could help offer a vision of justice in the country. They could ponder on whether Guyana’s courts could usefully bring in a system of public interest litigation, as has been successfully done in places like India.
Second, there is need for a political and social order of justice and equity in the country. Admittedly, a national consensus on governance has been elusive in the post-independence history of Guyana. But, for a start, we can build up a vision of local democracy in the country.
Third, an Action Plan must, as a matter of priority, offer blueprints on pressing issues such as:
● Protection of the right to life in the face of climate change
● Protection against environmental degradation
● Guaranteeing the means of survival, including food and water to every Guyanese
● Assuring essential needs such as shelter and health to every Guyanese
● Providing education for all
● Fostering cultural expression
By starting on issues such as these one could build up, incrementally, an overarching vision for the future of the country and its people. The parts could help define the whole.
Might the Guyana Bar Association, and civil society take the lead and help out the politicians in tracing paths to a new national vision for the Dear land of Guyana?
