Dear Editor,
I am happy to see democratic turnover in Guyana with the coalition’s victory, but this new government will get no free passes from me. Democracy is too fragile in our country for us to let our euphoria about democratic change blind us to the task at hand of crafting a stronger democratic future. So, I am openly wondering what is the reasoning behind making the OP a ministry and its head a minister? I am also openly questioning the presidency’s absorption and domination of the Ministry of Natural Resources and control of the nation’s natural resources. The Cummingsburg Accord was a first step in establishing some limits on the grave excess that is presidential power. People voted based on that agreement. That accord specifies that domestic affairs would fall directly under the Prime Minister by presidential delegation. Natural resources and their management are domestic and according to the accord, they must be delegated to the Prime Minister. The President already has executive power over the ministers. That power remains intact by virtue of the constitution. The Cummingsburg Accord was a first step in the direction of decentralizing some of that power.
This move by the President to control natural resources, particularly when the potential for massive oil wealth now materializes, appears to flout the Cummingsburg Accord, notwithstanding the silence from those who crafted this very document. It undermines the very democratic intent of the document which it was created to improve and buttress. I see this move as a contravention of the Cummingsburg Accord and its democratic idealism. Further, if oil is commercialized in the next few years, it will be the largest part of our economy. Gold already accounts for the largest stake in our economy. Directly controlling oil and natural resources is domination by and through the presidency. The accord is now toothless with these moves. Those who voted for it are watching closely. The Prime Minister as intended by the accord becomes a poodle and the presidency along with its Minister of the Presidency (Minister of State) now effectively dominates that part of the government that the presidency said through signing the Cummingsburg Accord, it would not interfere with or dominate. It parachutes the presidency, through his deputy, directly into the domestic affairs of the country, which the Cummingsburg Accord specifically and clearly outlined as the exclusive domain of the Prime Minster.
Some will argue that the President is simply ensuring the future oil wealth is properly managed by putting it under his direct control. That argument is bizarre because we could also apply it by putting the proper management of elections and determination of free speech directly under the President’s control. Seeking competent management or zealous guardianship is no excuse for destroying democracy or breaching accords that gained you power. Even if the individual who takes this step does these things, his successor could easily do completely differently as well as use the excess power to entrench autocracy. It is about systems, not people. Build the right systems and find the right people. These are disturbing steps in the wrong direction. The silence of those who claimed the Cummingsburg Accord was birthed in the heat of democratic fervour is making it worse. Constitutional reform starts now by asking these burning questions.
Yours faithfully,
M Maxwell
