– says presidential candidacy not off limits
Once nominated, Dr Richard Van West-Charles intends to contest for the leadership of the main opposition PNCR.
Van West-Charles, a former health minister in the PNC government and the son-in-law of the late President Forbes Burnham, recently took an early retirement from PAHO/WHO, where he worked for 19 years.
In the run up to the party’s upcoming biennial congress, he said his campaign is now focused on encouraging party members to renew their membership, which would precede a dialogue with them on the issues that they believe need to be addressed to improve the party in its preparations to contest the 2011 elections. As part of his ‘Rebuild Guyana’ platform, he is proposing term limits for the party leader and a rotation for the membership of the party’s Central Executive. Whether or not he is not elected, he said, there are ideas that the party should examine.
According to Van West-Charles, over the past five years there has been a “weakening” of the party, evident by its performance at the last general elections. Further, he said the party also has to treat with the question of how as an organisation it represents the issues of the people, regionally and nationally. “I am not convinced that we are doing as effective a job as I think we could do as a political opposition,” he said.
He noted that there are problems in the area of governance at the national level. But he said in order for the party to speak effectively on national governance, its internal governance must be of the highest level. “So, we must be prepared to address our own internal issues and if we can do that and communicate it internally and externally, that we have changed and look at those issues we need to address, we then would be able to communicate to the general public that we know what we are talking about,” he added.
During the last biennial congress, Van West-Charles had quietly supported Vincent Alexander’s campaign for leadership. He said the fact that anyone could contest for any position within the party is healthy, strengthening its internal democracy. However, he emphasised the need for the election process to be fair, just and transparent to the membership and to the public. “Free and fair polls are one of the critical issues and you can’t go to the [electorate] with question marks about your own internal process,” he added.
In the event that he is voted in as party leader, Van West-Charles also said he does not think he is disqualified from contesting for the presidency at general elections. While Article 90 (1) (b) of the Constitution stipulates that a person must have been continuously residing in Guyana for a period of seven years immediately before the nomination date for the election, in order to qualify as a presidential candidate.
Van West-Charles said he did not think it is applicable to him. Article 90 (4) specifically says that in determining continuity of residence, absence from Guyana to seek medical help, study at university or an institution of higher learning for more than four years and work for the government should be disregarded. He, however, explained that he was an international civil servant and at every place he worked since his recruitment by the UN, his place of residence has always been Guyana. Additionally, he noted that under UN staff rules, “home leave” is sponsored by the agency, which in part has allowed him and his family to return. In cases where it was not applicable, he said he covered the expenses himself.
Van West-Charles also cautioned against losing focus on what it takes to ensure that there is a government that is going to focus on the development of all the people and the party’s role in this process.
Growth
On how he would propose to return former party stalwarts to the fold as well as attract new membership, he said the PNCR has to send a message that everyone is welcome. “We are going to have differences and we need to be able to dialogue the differences, so you create that environment and set rules for how you are going to deal with difference and not allow it to fester,” he said. Additionally, he emphasised that room needs to be made for youth, in order to ensure the party’s growth. His proposal for term limits for the party leader as well as for a rotating Central Executive is part of an initiative to recruit young people into the process. “We are a country of young and we want them to be engaged in the process so they have a voice that is not only there but meaningful, in terms of policy and the direction of the party.”
Despite his extended stay overseas, he said he has continued to monitor national developments very closely. He added that he also maintained contact with the party leaders — including late former president Desmond Hoyte and Robert Corbin — as well as the party membership. However, he stressed that “no one person” could save the party. He said it would require a collaborative effort, since an organisation requires its membership. “Very critical in the process, is the empowerment of the membership in all of the processes of the party,” he said, “It isn’t about power for Richard Van West-Charles, it is how we ensure the empowerment of the people.”
He said he is in favour of building a participatory democracy, at party level and at a national level. “I feel our citizens need to be empowered so we have a say at every level of governance,” he explained, adding that there is need to set the framework by which people could participate in the different processes in a very meaningful way. A crucial element to this process is information, he said, to ensure that the people are informed in order to participate in the process.
Nearly a year ago, he had told Stabroek News that the PNCR needed a more dynamic system of relating to community issues. Explaining how the party would achieve this, he said the starting point is strengthening its presence and building partnerships with communities, with a developmental focus. In this regard, he said issues such as education and health could be addressed while specific groups like the poor, the elderly or women could be targeted. For example, he said no one speaks forcibly about poverty in the country, leaving the faces hidden and voices unheard. “As an opposition party you have got to talk about the development of the people,” he said, noting that it must have a programme or plan for the development of the country. “It is not about opposing for opposing sake; an opposition has to be solution-oriented and looking at the issues that affect the daily lives of the people.”
Power sharing
Asked whether he is in favour of power sharing, he explained that he is not in favour of an executive arrangement where political parties simply divide ministries between them. He is, however, in support of a bottom-up approach, explaining that where there is need to implement a programme that would affect the lives of people, the civic, religious and political organizations would have to find space to come together to participate. “Power sharing has to start from the bottom and this is very critical to local government,” he said, pointing out that the local government system has to be revamped in such a way that the people who live in a geographic space would unite despite their political affiliations to focus on developmental issues. “…you don’t want a repeat of what happens at central government… once you begin to move from the bottom up, you will see power sharing that would eventually extend to national issues that you have to look at,” he added.
Van West-Charles noted that although some parties are represented on state boards, the citizenry remains shut out of the process. There might be need for a reshaping of the constitution to ensure there is good participation at both parliamentary and local levels, he said, while expressing scepticism about executive power sharing. “That takes the people out of the process and it is empowerment that becomes critical for a participatory democracy,” he said.
He added that the problem of race and ethnic exclusion could also be addressed in this context. He said when the issues are addressed from the top; the problems still remain at the bottom. There is need to understand the insecurities of the different groups on the ground, he explained, and to ensure a dialogue on the process that needs to be put in place to address the respective concerns.
