The Cummingsburg Ac-cord, which underpins the alliance between A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), is working well, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo says.
“We have gone beyond the scope of the Cummingsburg Accord… major responsibilities have now been thrusted to me as Prime Minister. I consult very regularly with subject ministers on their area of competence. I do not interfere, but if they need my help and guidance, I am always available to speak with them, we are all colleagues, we are partners and we are in this together,” the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by the Government Information Agency (GINA).
The Accord formed the basis for the pre-election alliance of APNU and the AFC. Nagamootoo said that the Accord has become a true working partnership and there is extensive sharing of government responsibilities. He told GINA that the members of APNU and AFC bring a wealth of experience to craft developmental policies and initiatives for Guyana’s advancement.
“The President has also entrusted in me the chairmanship of another Cabinet sub-committee that deals with the green economy, the conceptualisation and development of a national development plan that has a futuristic focus, a 2030 focus, and though I am not an economist, I believe that the president’s confidence in me stems from that fact that he knows I am a long standing political player,” Nagamootoo said.
The Accord, among other things, had provided that the Prime Minister would chair Cabinet meetings but this has not happened.
The Accord provides that the president shall, among other things, delegate the responsibilities of domestic national affairs and the chairing of Cabinet. Other responsibilities delegated to the Prime Minister should have included recommending ministerial appointments and providing the organisational structures of ministries for the approval of the president; appointments of the heads of agencies and non-constitutional commissions with the required and agreed democratic mechanisms of consultation; and domestic security (Home Affairs).
The parties had also agreed that cabinet positions would be allocated on a 60/40 basis between APNU and the AFC, respectively.
President David Granger had told Stabroek News that parts of the agreement underpinning the historic alliance between APNU and the AFC collide with the Constitution and would therefore have to await reforms. He had said that it was following legal advice this would have been discovered.
Others including Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran, however, have argued that the Accord does not collide with the constitution.
Nagamootoo has said that he was not making an issue of Granger’s chairmanship of Cabinet meetings, while noting that contrary to what is stipulated in the Cummingsburg Accord, the duty belongs to the President.
