Dr Henry Jeffrey, former government minister, says political actors here need to go back to the drawing board and carefully examine the concept of shared governance, as interest in a government of national unity takes centre stage.
Dr Henry Jeffrey
In an interview with Guyana Times International, the former health, education, housing and foreign trade minister under the PPP/ C administration, said stakeholders touting this system of governance need to understand that it could be achieved. “They need to understand that there is a possibility for doing things and that must be put on the table… things could be done differently and that’s why, if the opposition wins they should do it… they should lay out quite clearly what it is they intend to do so that people are in no doubt,” Dr Jeffrey pointed out.
He also spoke of the seeming reluctance of the ruling People’s Progressive Party to push for shared governance, suggesting that this system was more likely to be examined by the late Dr Cheddi Jagan.
Jeffrey, now a senior lecturer at the University of Guyana has been pushing this concept for several years now, and believes that Guyanese are buying into it. “I think that people are positive about it. I have not even heard PPP people talking about it in a negative way. By definition unity cannot be a bad thing; we were taught that in school.”
Not wowed
But while this may be true, Dr Jeffery is not impressed with the joint opposition’s ‘A Partnership for National Unity,’ declaring that he is yet to be ‘wowed.’ “I’m looking for a wow factor, something that could catch people’s imaginations; just having this group here ain’t catch anybody’s imagination. Lots of people like the idea, it’s a way forward but I don’t know that they have created what you would call a wow factor,” the former minister declared.
It is his opinion that the nomination of an Amerindian presidential candidate may have created the kind of sensation he is hopeful of. As such, Dr Jeffrey does not see the group as creating much of a threat to the reign of the incumbent, who he described as a “formidable force”
APNU selected retired GDF Brigadier David Granger of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) to lead it into elections. “I think that JOPP is a good idea; I supported it from day one and I think that anything I can do – because they are the only ones willing to look at this constitutional arrangement – I will support them.”
Saying he has been a long- time advocate of shared governance, Dr Jeffrey said he prefers the U. S. style of governance. He said should that be adopted here, “We might be able to weed out the race- based politics and promote social progress in Guyana.”
Dr Jeffrey believes that in any new form of governance the president should be elected by no less than 51 per cent of the votes, which will see ultimately the nation moving beyond the traditional race voting that Guyana has come to know.
According to the constitution of Guyana, the president could be elected through a simple majority; meaning the party with greatest percentage of votes, regardless of how little it is, gains the presidency.
As it relates to Parliament, the lecturer of international studies and diplomacy sees the bicameral legislature, employed by the United States, as working best for Guyana. “Right now the president’s party controls the Parliament; the president can say whatever he likes to the party and votes are almost automatic. It needs not be so,” said Dr Jeffrey. He thinks it is best that ministers are not members of parliament, since according to him; ministers should be appointed by the president and as such could be sacked by the head of state.
“Gradually, people in Parliament could grow into themselves and say look, we don’t have to follow the president, he can’t sack us … and eventually these parties will become independent of the executive. In my view that is a stronger level of separation of power.”
Of course, these parliamentarians would have to be elected by their constituencies and actively represent their interest. In the U. S. Congress, Democrats/ Republicans do not necessarily support agendas pushed by a Democratic/ Republican president.
In Guyana, legislative power rests in a unicameral national assembly. It is made up of 65 members; 25 of which are elected through proportional representation from 10 geographic constituencies as is represented by the 10 administrative regions of Guyana.
But while the senior UG lecturer favours the American model of bicameral legislature for the Guyanese Parliament, he does not think that country’s system of federalism will work well in the case of the local government structure here. Dr Jeffrey believes that this will breed more minority issues among the ethnic groups. But, he was adamant that what is needed is a strong local government system that will be best guaranteed with more constituency seats in the National Assembly.
“You may have a multimember constituency in which people are given preferences, effectively you may end up voting for two people and the second one may not be from your party, so it goes beyond race,” he explained.
