Progress seen in dialogue decisions
Projects in depressed communities nearing completion
By Patrick Denny
Stabroek News
May 23, 2002
The four projects identified by the Jagdeo/Hoyte joint committee on depressed communities should all be completed within the next three months.
In the meantime, it is preparing to commence work in communities in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) and Region Ten (Upper Demerara/ Upper Berbice). The depressed communities committee was one of several set up out of the dialogue between President Bharrat Jagdeo and PNC/R leader Desmond Hoyte, which was suspended by the PNC/R because it felt that decisions arrived at were not being implemented.
Stabroek News was told that the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) should be in a position to connect eligible households in the De Kinderen area in another two to three months. The government said that the completion of the project was delayed as the area had to be regularised.
The supply of electricity to De Kinderen was one of four projects identified as priority by the communities in which they are being implemented. The other three communities were Non Pariel and Meten-Meer-Zorg, where electricity was being supplied and residents there just had to pay the connection fees, and Buxton where the drainage project is nearing completion.
The PNC/R wanted the implementation of these and other decisions taken during the Jagdeo/Hoyte dialogue process before it resumed active cooperation with the government. Another decision not implemented when the dialogue process was suspended and which has since been honoured is the tabling in the National Assembly of a National Policy on House Lot Distribution and Land Allocation. Housing Minister, Shaik Baksh, laid the policy paper in the National Assembly on May 9.
President Bharrat Jagdeo and Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte took the decision to have the policy paper laid in parliament after the joint committee on house lot distribution and land allocation was unable to complete its work. A decision of the parliamentary committee on constitutional reform had required the policy paper to be laid by the government by December 31, 2000 but the government never complied with this decision. It also failed to meet the February 28 date set by the dialogue process and President Jagdeo's promised March 31 deadline.
Another unimplemented decision is the review of the report of the joint committee on borders and national security by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before it was tabled in the National Assembly. Foreign Minister, Rudy Insanally told Stabroek News that his ministry was nearing completion of the review after which it would be sent to the President and Hoyte for their approval. The review is to enable any sensitive information to be deleted before it is laid in the National Assembly.
Three-month extension
The joint committee on local government reform continues to meet and has sought a three-month extension to its May deadline. Most of its work has been completed but late identification of experts to assist in the areas of the garnering and allocation of resources and electoral systems delayed this section of their task. The PPP's vetoing of a decision of the committee to invite Notre Dame University professor, Dr Andrew Reynolds, to assist was the cause of delay in that area and the late availability of the expert in garnering resources identified to help on this issue prompted a further setback.
Stabroek News understands that the committee has identified Professor Keith Massiah to assist it in the drafting of the necessary legislative changes. The National Democratic Institute is funding Massiah's work with the committee.
As a result of the new deadline being sought, co-chair of the committee, Minister in the Ministry of Local Government, Clinton Collymore, told Stabroek News yesterday that local government elections were no longer possible this year. Prior to this, Elections Commission Chairman Steve Surujbally had told Stabroek News that the elections - due since 1998 - were not possible this year.
Stabroek News understands, too, that the recommendations of the joint committee on radio monopoly and non-partisan boards for inclusion in the new broadcast legislation were now with the Attorney-General's Chambers. There has been no word from the government about the implementation of the recommendation about the composition of the boards of the state media organisations - the Guyana National Newspapers Limited, the Guyana Television Broadcasting Company and the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation.
More difficult to resolve was the role of the bauxite committee whose functions Hoyte claimed had been undermined by Prime Minister Sam Hinds during the discussions with Alcoa about the future of Aroaima Bauxite Company. He also claimed that despite the functions of the committee being clarified at a meeting the co-chairs held with Prime Minister Hinds, himself and President Jagdeo, it was still kept out of the loop in the discussions with Cambior about its equity participation in the Linden Mining Enterprise.
He complained that the committee was supposed to have supervised the three-man technical committee that was to engage Cambior, the parent company of Omai Gold Mines Limited, but President Jagdeo took over this role.
He said, too, that the Prime Minister had also failed to keep the committee informed about developments at Bermine whose operations at Kwakwani shut down last week because cash flow problems prevented it from meeting its commitments to its contractors.
However, the leader of the team, Privatisation Unit Head Winston Brassington, denied this saying the committee was briefed before the negotiations. BIDCO's board chairman, Ron Webster, also said that two members of the committee were present when the board was briefed on the commercial issues by Brassington. He also contended that it was the Board's responsibility to determine what agreement with Cambior would be acceptable.
Stabroek News understands that the negotiations with Cambior were due to be completed shortly.
Unresolved too are the issues of the composition of the parliamentary management committee and the parliamentary sector committees. President Jagdeo has aired a proposal for resolving the latter issue but Hoyte said that it was not formally put to his party. The proposal is for a reduction of the membership of the committees from 11 to a smaller number that would allow the PPP/C to man these committees without appointing ministers. The PNC/R has refused to agree to ministers being appointed to the committees, contending that the doctrine of shared Cabinet responsibility precludes the ministers from being members.
The two sides are deadlocked on the composition of the Parliamentary Management Committee (PMC) with the government insisting on having a majority, claiming that if there was parity the PNC/R could hamstring the work of the parliament. However, the PNC/R pointed out that of the five opposition members to be appointed three would be named by it and one each by GAP/WPA and ROAR. It contended, too, that the PMC was a committee of the National Assembly and would have no special powers.