This the first entry in a series on the current state of civil society in Guyana.
Veteran trade unionist Lincoln Lewis believes that many civil society organisations are failing to hold the PPP/C-led government accountable on its governance of the country—a situation that he believes is due to divisions sown by politics and race.
“We, as civil society, have to hold government accountable but we don’t want to do that. We want to be nice to them and therein lies the problem with civil society organisations,” Lewis told Sunday Stabroek in a recent interview.
After the 2018 no-confidence motion against the then APNU+AFC government, Lewis noted, a group involving the trades unions and the private sector saw it as an opportunity to force politicians to make Article 13 real. (Article 13 of Guyana’s constitution states, “The principal objective of the political system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens, and their organisations in the management and decision-making processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being.”) They started meeting before January 2019 and discussed encouraging the National Assembly to put laws in place to strengthen the regions so they can develop their own programmes. After two to three months, everything shifted to calls for elections. Elections were called and a new government was put in place but Article 13 was thrown aside.
“Now those in government are cussing them out when they talk now. That is happening because many of them were sympathisers of the PPP…. They used their influence to move to fight for election rather than fight for Article 13 and other elements of the constitution.”
Apart from Article 13, he noted the constitution refers to the economic well-being of the nation and the need for the executive to consult with the trades unions, the cooperative movement and other stakeholders. “To not consult with civil society is a breach of the constitution,” he said. “The government cannot go to the ILO [International Labour Organization] conference in Geneva in June this year without the involvement of the workers organisations and the employers’ organisations, the Consultative Association of Guyana Industries Limited (CAGI). They cannot be seated,” he added.
Political preferences
Lewis acknowledged that there is “naked bullying” by government, which lashes out against civil society for voicing concerns although he pointed out the irony that while in opposition the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had called on civil society to speak out against what the then APNU+AFC government was doing.
At the same time, he claimed that civil society is cut down the middle because a number of organisations were formed and are funded by the PPP/C or its supporters to do its bidding, including religious groups, a large section of the private sector and the trades union movement.
He said that while trade unionist Coretta McDonald is an APNU+AFC member of parliament (MP), the union from which she comes is not an affiliate or an arm of APNU or AFC, Seepaul Narine, the current President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), is a PPP/C MP and the union is the industrial arm of the ruling party.
“The issue here is that the political parties over the years have divided us,” said Lewis, who pointed to the longstanding split in the labour movement as an example of this. (Both the GTUC and FITUG – the main constituents of which are GAWU and NAACIE – are holding separate labour rallies today.)
Lewis said in 1999 when the police shot at public servants who were picketing for better working conditions, GAWU and NAACIE, another union supportive of the PPP/C, voted for the protest at a Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) statutory executive council meeting that very morning. “By afternoon they sent a letter stating they were pulling out of the TUC. Those same unions who walked out of the TUC were on every picketing exercise we had when the APNU+AFC government was in office. Now if you go to picket this government, they cuss you down,” he said.
Lewis said everyone is allowed a political position “but your individual position as it relates to your political preferences “must not deny civil society organisations that you belong to, the right to question any government’s conduct when it comes to their constitutional responsibility.”
He is of the view that civil society feels threatened by the current administration because many of them do not want to be attacked and instead want to be in government’s good books. “Government should not question who elected civil society. Article 13 of the constitution speaks to an inclusionary democracy. It says that anything that impacts the well-being of individuals and civil society will have to be addressed by government. Civil society represents the voices of the wider society. To take the position that they are not elected is to go against the spirit and intent of the constitution,” he argued.
Elephant in the room
For Lewis, race is also responsible for the current state of civil society. “The elephant [in the room] in this country is race. We do not want to discuss it. When one major ethnic group breaks the law, it is unlawful and you should not understand the circumstances, but when the other group breaks the law it is right and you should understand why. That is what this government has taken advantage of. We, as civil society, are weak and inconsistent in our positions,” he said.
Even the distribution of the country’s resources is driven by race, Lewis argued. Laid off bauxite workers who are mainly Africans and supporters of the People’s National Congress Reform are not treated the way government treats sugar workers, he said. He referred to President Irfaan Ali’s assurance that sugar workers at Uitvlugt sugar estate, who are mainly East Indians and primarily supporters of the PPP, would be given work for six days each week during the cane cutting off season at the expense of the national coffers. He also alleged that the distribution of COVID-19 relief to the populace saw East Indian communities and African communities being treated differently. “If the issue is not race, someone has to tell me what it is. In Region Five, the agricultural access roads in African communities are neglected but not so where East Indians are farming. They are now opening a set of lands in Number 51. The lands being put aside for African community is less than one tenth of what is being given to the East Indian community. This whole question of the sharing of resources is driven by race.”
In areas where African populated areas voted for the former coalition government, Lewis also claimed, has seen the government looking at every opportunity to appoint its own people in institutions where appointments were made based on a democratic process.
“In Linden, a few weeks ago, somebody went to the government with some allegations against the committee. They met with the elected committee of the Linden Utilities Services Cooperative Society and installed an interim management committee that included the person who made the allegation without investigating the allegations,” he said. “There must be no dissenting voice. If you are entitled to a subvention, that money will not go to you. They will put their people to manage it. That is dangerous and runs against the spirit and intent of constitution that speaks of an inclusionary democracy.”
Asked whether there is a solution, Lewis said, “We need to talk about empowering and put formulas in place that are developed and acceptable by society. We may have to even address the issue of how we elect leaders. I don’t agree with the first-past-the post to elect the executive but it can apply for the election of regional MPs. Political parties are always determining the representatives of the people even if they do not perform. If the regions field their own candidates, that will cause civil society groups in the regions not to hold on to the coattails of political parties because that would be people-centred.”
Whenever there is talk of inclusionary democracy, Lewis added, the constitution is blamed. “We can have a very good constitution but if programmes and laws are not implemented based on the constitution, we will get nowhere. If we rewrite the constitution now, what assurance can we get that the governments will honour the new constitution?”
