The Guyana Trades Union Con-gress (GTUC) yesterday called the government’s withdrawal from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project an affront to democracy.
Condemning the government’s action, the GTUC in a press statement issued yesterday said it was attempting “to distract this nation”. The union umbrella body said the government through its withdrawal from the project was refusing to pursue a path of meaningful democratic strengthening measures as proposed by the project.
“The outright distortion attempted by Dr [Roger] Luncheon and exposed by the US Ambassador is shameless, but quite consistent with what this nation is witnessing over successive PPP governments,” the GTUC said.
“GTUC is not surprised by the efforts of government to undermine democratic ventures and measures of government accountability even as they continue to pay the traditional lip service to this system of good and accountable governance,” it said in its release.
Speaking on Sunday on television, Cabinet Secretary Dr Luncheon said the continuation of the project after government had exited it was an “affront” to Guyana’s sovereignty.
The aim of the $300 million project is, among other things, to boost citizens’ engagement with local parliamentarians and improve overall governance.
This newspaper reported that US Ambassador D. Brent Hardt rejected government’s contention that it was not involved in the project.
The GTUC said that it supports the US-led project “since this project is consistent with the rights of our citizens, the rights of workers and accountability of our institutions and public officials.”
Said the GTUC: “This is in our national interest to pursue. It solidifies the people’s inalienable right to self-determination.”
It said that any effort at capacity building to improve citizens’ knowledge augurs well for personal and national development. “Any government preventing democratic institutional strengthening is seeking to rule at the expense of ignorance, solidifying their power to deny real meaningful involvement of the masses in decision making that affects their lives,” the GTUC said.
“GTUC in continuing its programme of ‘Advancing Rights and Rule of Law’, announced at its October Triennial Congress that the next three year it will be placing a laser beam on Capacity Building among its constituents,” the release said. “GTUC sees the LEAD project as an opportunity for other stakeholders to embrace similar exercises.
“Dr Luncheon’s malapropism that this project is an affront to Guyana’s sovereignty because of Cabinet’s non-approval is an affront in itself to the democratic strengthening efforts that this nation badly needs and which the project is all about.
“Dr Luncheon and the PPP administration are reminded they cannot cherry-pick rights and the democratic journey did not begin nor end in 1992. They are reminded in the matter of democratic strengthening, while in opposition they were not hesitant to seek and embrace a US role in Guyana governance system. They are reminded that Desmond Hoyte embraced reform measures even though their propaganda points to him being forced to do so. History will now record their response.
“The nation and the PPP are also reminded of the role of the former US President-led Carter Center in shaping the electoral system under which elections were held in 1992. That was just another milestone marked in the democratic journey of Guyana and the PPP, like Desmond Hoyte must continue along this pathway!”
