– With some agreement on Burnham
Too many Guyanese citizens know precious little about their Parliament of Guyana. They don’t know – and they don’t care to know.
To many of those travelling around the largely littered, unkempt capital, Parliament is known – and intensely disliked – for the traffic chaos around the Stabroek area and its precincts caused when the barriers go up because that Parliament is in session.
And to many still, Parliament is where the country’s elected leadership gets to display and demonstrate the lack of unity; but unity the nation so desperately needs. The citizens who bothered to elect representatives on Polling Day observe the acrimonious debates, boycotts, crosstalk and expressions of contempt which some members of the Parliament hold for one another. No wonder the average Guyanese is indifferent to Parliamentary goings-on after Election Day and the convening of the First Sitting.
One positive point to note is that the Parliamentarians have established Committees to discuss issues and Bills before they are debated by the whole body. This mechanism harbours the hope that more agreement, even unanimity will attend the debate as a Bill, hopefully, goes on to become law.
Now since Parliament exists for the collective well-being of the electors and the rest of the nation, all those citizens deserve to know much more about the history, role, responsibilities and procedures of Parliament. That is why I was glad about hints given by the Speaker/ Chairman of the forum at the Commonwealth Parliamen-tary Association Workshop weeks ago. It seems that a programme of public education activities will be launched to make Guyanese – not only students or researchers – more familiar with Parliament. Great idea!
**********
What is
`Parliament’?
Those who are persuaded to be interested should learn some interesting facts – basic knowledge to inform themselves and perhaps improved education to hold parliamentary representatives more After all, the committed populace eligible voted for those persons to become parliamentarians. It is a huge responsibility – being a member of parliament – the highest forum in Guyana. I mean besides the life-long status conferred – and the lovely attendant perquisites: salary, pension afterwards, licences, permits and certain “opportunities”.
So if – or when – a public education programme comes on stream what will citizens learn? I know of a few basics. For starters, the uninformed will realize that, in Guyana, “Parliament” is made up of (1) The President of Guyana and (2) The National Assembly. What? Got that? Parliament and “National Assembly”?
Yes, quite often “Parliament” and “National Assembly” are used interchangeably. Whilst that use is not completely wrong, it must be understood that according to our Constitution, the National Assembly is one part of our Parliament. The President no longer sits in the Assembly but has the power and authority to do so whenever he feels like addressing the House. He, of course, must sign, or assent to, Bills passed before they become actual law.
The ordinary citizen should be able to understand that the National Assembly, the “House”, the “Commit- tee” of that Assembly, the Legislature, really is a collection of law-makers – though? Many are actually laymen like we are – who meet to debate Bills put forward to become laws which affect all of us. There are myriad rules and procedures to be followed by the MP’s (Members of Parliament) as they go about their business on our behalf.
How many elected Members are there in the Assembly? What is, or could be the total number of MPs? I have hope for any good programme of education using varied media and techniques. The Assembly, the Parliament should be brought closer to its ‘People’!
*********
Burnham in
Parliament
Forbes Burnham, who once bestrode his country’s political landscape as an old-time Emperor/Kabaka would, served in Guyana’s Parliament for some three decades.
His oratory was Church-illian – indeed I have reason to suspect that his delivery was patterned after Britain’s Winston Churchill – and his debating skills seldom matched in that Legislature. Whether his arguments or policy statements would eventually lead to ruin – or not. Such was his mastery in the highest forum, where words still matter.
Believe it or not, notwithstanding my remarks in the earlier third paragraph of this offering, when I attended two sessions of the Assembly within the past seven weeks, Government and Opposition actually agreed fully, completely on two motions! Consensus! Unanimity! Rare! And the latter had to do with the enigma Forbes Burnham.
Last week Thursday the Assembly met to consider Opposition Leader Corbin’s well-crafted hard-to-reject Motion calling for the Assembly to honour Burnham’s work in the House, in Guyana and the wider world. (Last week Wednesday marked 23 years since Forbes passed.) Many months before, a similar Motion on Cheddi Jagan was also passed unanimously. So how could it be different for Forbes?
Man the encomiums to the Founder-Leader were fast and furious. Burnham’s earliest achievements and vision reigned fully. RHO Corbin was fulsome and besides himself with praise for his political mentor. Manzoor Nadir offered witty but revealing anecdotes. Trotman said he knew both the Jagan and Burnham families. And Prime Minister Hinds certainly did not stand on ceremony. He supported Corbin’s Burnham Motion, but was pointed in enumerating certain reminders of Forbes’ behaviour and tenure.
I had the same book – KAIE ’85 – that Mr Corbin and MP Basil Williams used. So I knew that Burnahm acted as Attorney-General once – and that he caused the Enmore Martyrs Monu-ment to be erected at Enmore, for special reasons.
It was interesting, for me, in the House. But when Burnham’s track record in the education of the nation was lauded, no one mentioned an irony Vic had revealed to me. That when Forbes was Minister of Education for 133 days in 1953, he managed to expand the Government County Scholarship. One of many not-so-rich, but brilliant boys who got into Queen’s College, as a result of Forbes’ doing, was one Walter Rodney! Let’s pay some more attention to Parliament and its National Assembly. Okay?
********
CARIFESTA
10 COMETH!
1) Cometh? It’s virtually here. Remember my last week’s countdown checklist: (the City will remain overbushed, ill-drained and smelly; bus parks and so called conductor/touts gross and uncouth, but) let’s construct the Hospitality village at the Clean Carifesta Complex; additional small bridges and pathways to Sophia; security in vulnerable villages; Volunteers around the City, well advertised and trained, Generators and rain-proof tents etc, etc.
2) Cannot our police anticipate and pre-empt criminal activity during the ten days?
3) Name 20 vital requirements necessary to build a successful township in the hinterland.
4) Saw our twelve-member team to Beijing?
5) Caller on Tuesday’s CNS Voice of the People – On Race Relations here: “Indians are not dying! At least on Channel Nine Death Announcements! No Indian appears dead on HBTV. Indians only die on 69 and Channel 6. Yes Sharma is Back!
6) So, is it taken for granted that a PPP/C Presidential Candidate will become President?
7) The Guyana Cook-Up show is back!
’Til next week!
Comments?
allanafenty@yahoo.com