Civil society organisation, Article 13 is unhappy with the PPP/C performance in office to date stating that the party in power is not acting in the nation’s best interest.
In a release yesterday, Article 13 reminded that the day, August 2, 2022, marks two years since the PPP/C assumed the reins of power following the March 2, 2020 elections. This came five months after the holding of general and regional elections triggered by the December 21, 2018 No Confidence motion against the APNU+AFC government led by David Granger.
It described the nearly 600 days that elapsed between the passing of the no-confidence motion and the declaration of the election results as “one of the most sordid periods in the country’s history.” It noted too that supporters of APNU+AFC “employed just about any legal and extra-legal means … to rig the elections.” These actions of course drew comparisons “with the pattern of rigged elections (and a referendum), for which the PNC had been associated for nearly two decades.” Article 13 noted that the chain of events served to set back democracy as a result of one party’s rejection of the elections results.
The release stated that once in opposition, the APNU+AFC continued its challenge of the elections results and when its leader “immaturely” refused to shake the hands of President Ali, that action further eroded the Coalition’s loss of credibility. However, it did not see the Coalition as the only loser.
It highlighted that during the nearly 20 months, the PPP/C had accepted help “from all and sundry” and upon assuming power, moved to reward, in different ways, those who helped it.
“Such reward took the form of plum appointments, steering contracts in a particular direction and the allocation of State resources, often at below market price. In this regard, the PPP/C was operating true to form, as it had done in the twenty-three years it was in power from 1992 to 2015.”
Article 13 noted the emergence of corruption with the allegations against Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo and welcomed the public statements by both President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo supporting a formal investigation into those allegations. According to the organisation, it now anxiously awaits President Ali’s appointment of a Commission to investigate them.
While describing the performance of the opposition as “lacklustre” at best, the release asserts that the PPP/C has done little to advance “democracy, good governance, the rule of law and the country’s interest,” and pointed out a number of shortcomings. These include, the failure to appoint a number of constitutional bodies to secure good and efficient governance; the practice of exclusionary rather than inclusionary democracy; President Ali continuing to ignore calls to confirm the acting Chancellor and Chief Justice; a virtually non-operational Access to Information Act; no new legislation to regulate the petroleum sector; a local content policy for the sector that has been bungled and is in disarray; GECOM remaining an enigma with total silence from the Minister of Local Government or GECOM on any arrangements for holding Local Government elections due this year; and the government’s willingness to risk serious harm to the environment while pursuing “uncontrolled” petroleum activities under a Petroleum Agreement which it promised to revisit but now stoutly defends.
As far as Article 13 is concerned, Guyana, including the Government, the Opposition and civil society, all need to be mindful of the direction in which the country is heading and to recognise the need for a reset. And while it supports the idea of constitutional reform, it posits that it means nothing when governments can ignore the existing constitutional provisions with impunity. It therefore exhorts the PNCR and its “derivatives” to commit to respecting the wishes of the electorate and be prepared to sit down and honestly discuss the business of the country. The PPP/C on the other hand must show by its actions and good faith that it places service and the interest of all the people above power and partisan politics.
Civil society, the release added, “must show courage and independence not only in holding the government and the Opposition responsible but also in advancing and representing the interest of the people of the country. Our country’s success and the prosperity of the ordinary Guyanese will be guaranteed by how well we are governed as much as by how vast our petroleum resources are.”
