A governance and democracy report done for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) says the most promising entry point for programming in Guyana may be to encourage dialogue around a new national development strategy.
The report dated August 2021 noted that a similar activity was undertaken by the Carter Center in 1997 which brought together the country’s leadership across the broad spectrum of political actors and institutions. The report contended that the initiative created “champions and entry points for change”. The report added that “Many of the same recommendations made more than 20 years ago remain presciently relevant, especially the need for investment in human resources, strengthening weak institutions, and building the nation’s infrastructure that connects people, policies, and public services”.
Despite the exhaustive work put into the National Development Strategy (NDS) by many stakeholders via the Carter Center initiative it became the casualty of political wrangling between the PPP/C and PNC and was never put to use.
The report has pointed to the challenges in framing a common vision for the country’s future and says the major parties need to devise a way to form a functioning democracy “based on power-sharing rather than a `winner takes all’ mentality”.
The Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) assessment said that democracy based on power-sharing “would ensure that the unprecedented wealth in oil reserves can be transparently and equitably managed for the benefit of all Guyanese”.
Done a year after the PPP/C government was sworn into office, the report cited weak political accountability as a problem.
“This DRG assessment identifies challenges to competition and political accountability that make consensus and inclusion elusive in the country. Foremost is weak political accountability, which influences all the other DRG elements; especially the lack of consensus on the democratic and economic future of the country. Guyana is becoming a more important partner in the region for the US and other countries while at the same time Guyana’s political instability raises concerns that the country is unprepared for its newfound wealth without a plan to manage the new revenue and equitably disburse the financial benefits”, the report said.
It stated that USAID’s comparative advantage in promoting the DRG elements is related to its long history of working in Guyana.
The report disclosed that “Most stakeholders acknowledged in interviews that the international community and the (United States Government) have an important role in guiding and supporting democratic change. Many of the 92 respondents included in the key informant interviews, including political leaders and activists and actors, expressed gratitude for the international community’s intervention to break the post-2020 election impasse. They cited the efforts of the US, Canada, Britain, European Union, as well as CARICOM and the Commonwealth, as critical. Many of the Guyanese respondents cautioned that the solutions for Guyana’s political and ethnic problems lie with the Guyanese because their political impasse cannot be solved with a `development solution’”.
The report said that USAID’s activities to promote civil society and private sector engagement along with the inclusion of gender and indigenous populations can be a catalyst for demanding greater government accountability and transparency.
“As noted throughout this report, local government development and empowerment of local officials is key to good governance. The systemic weaknesses in public finance and administration and inequitable access to economic opportunities perpetuates the lack of competition and government accountability. Strengthening systems that promote social and economic resilience (e.g. juvenile justice and education) is critical to reducing economic barriers that disenfranchise large segments of the population that extend beyond ethnic divisions”, the report said.
It added that several donors and Guyanese civil society stakeholders commended USAID’s programming in the areas of citizen security and more specifically, the prevention and recovery from crime and violence by at-risk youth.
The report said that strengthening resiliency at the community level and applying proven intervention methodologies are important as is engaging private sector entities to ensure youth are mentored and more readily absorbed into meaningful employment.
Also underlined in the report was the changing relationship between Guyana and the US as a result of the country’s massive oil reserves.
Paradigm shift
“Guyana’s importance to American foreign policy has changed due to the massive oil reserves but the current government has not yet adjusted to this paradigm shift in the relationship. In key informant interviews, senior government officials acknowledged that the relationship has undergone a fundamental change and focus given the engagement of US oil companies in the extraction and shipping of the oil and gas products. The Assessment Team heard from multiple respondents about the critical need for a national development strategy, but did not uncover any evidence that there is a whole of government approach to doing so. Few members of the Guyana Government as well as civil society actors in the country articulated the ramifications of American multinational corporations’ huge investments. Executive leadership from ExxonMobil and Hess can call and meet with the US Secretary of State and National Security Council to express their concerns about the political, social and economic policy environment in Guyana”, the report stated.
On the environment for USAID DRG programming here, the report said it is vital that USAID works with partners to support the Guyana Government as well as civil society accountability and transparency measures that must be put into operation very quickly to oversee the anticipated flow of funds to the government treasury.
“It is not clear at all how the Government of Guyana will build institutional capacity and a skilled labor force to manage its new wealth. Many of the public sector governance functions such as public procurement for government services, auditing and oversight of government revenue and spending, establishing business enabling environments, etc., will need to be outsourced while human capital development is advanced”, the report contended.
A second potential area for DRG programming, the report said, is to work closely with the international financial institutions and the Guyana Government in building the capacity of the public sector to become more efficient and strengthen governing systems. It noted that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank have much more robust programming in the areas of public sector reforms, with the largest donor portfolio of more than US$260 million and US$61 million, respectively, to support efforts for economic diversification and modern industrial and labour policies.
The report said that the IDB advises the Guyana Government to prioritize public procurement reforms and operationalizing the oversight of the country’s sovereign wealth fund. The other pressing need, the report said, is to develop a public investment planning body that will link strategic policy goals to public spending.
The report was prepared by Brenda Lee Pearson, Candice Ramessar and Remi Anderson.
