In a full-page advertisement in the Sunday Chronicle, it was noted that progress has been made in the currently stalled dialogue process, a process, which was commended by civil society.

“The dialogue process has resolved a lot of issues. There has been significant forward movement on many of the agenda items and supplementary matters,” the advertisement stated.

It reiterated the Government’s commitment to the dialogue process and noted that as recent as July 4, President Bharrat Jagdeo, speaking at the United States’ National Day event, said: “I remain ready and open to dialogue in the national interest…I believe that we cannot continue making excuses and setting obstacles in the path of dialogue.”

“In our case dialogue is not only the preferred way it is the only feasible and acceptable way for us to solve our problems and I will remain untiring in my pursuit of solutions to our national problems,” the advertisement quoted the Guyanese Head of State as saying.

In a brief background to the process, the advertisement recalled that on April 25 last year, President Jagdeo and Opposition Leader Mr. Desmond Hoyte met and issued a joint statement in which they announced that joint committees will be established within two weeks for Local Government Reform; Border and National Security issues; Distribution of Land and House Lots; the Resuscitation of the Bauxite Industry; Depressed Communities Needs Committee; and Radio Monopoly and Non-Partisan Boards of Directors.

The subsequent May 14, 2001 dialogue meeting resulted in the agreement on the terms of reference of the various committees and a meeting of the various joint committees the following day (May 15, 2001). The various joint committees were to be supported by the subject Ministries and a timetable for the completion of the joint committees’ work was agreed upon.

The advertisement also highlighted the progress made by the joint committees.

** Local Government Reform Committee - The joint task force on Local Government Reform has made tremendous progress up to the time its mandate expired on May 18, 2002. The committee has made a request to President Jagdeo for an extension of the mandate by three months so that it could wind up its work. Not much remains to be done. Outstanding is a firm decision on the electoral process, which is a complex issue. Already a legal draftsman had been retained and the NDI has offered to fund his fees either fully or in part. As soon as the mandate is extended, the Committee will resume its work. In this Committee, the entire local government system is being overhauled.

** The Report of Border and National Security Committee - The committee met on a number of occasions and produced a report. President Jagdeo and Mr. Hoyte met with members of the Committee and agreed that the report will be tabled in the National Assembly for the consideration of the Sectorial Committee on Foreign Affairs. Also, it was recognised that the report could not be tabled in its present form and had to be sanitised. The President informed Mr. Hoyte at the February 19, 2002 dialogue meeting that the report was sent to the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for editing and subsequent review. Mr. Hoyte was also reminded that the Sectorial Committee on Foreign Affairs was not yet in place.

** National Policy on Distribution of Land and House Lots - Both President Jagdeo and Mr. Hoyte rejected the report of the Committee on the distribution of land and house lots. It was agreed that the Government would table a White Paper on land distribution and the criteria for selection by the end of February 2002. However, Parliament did not meet until March 15, 2002. At the dialogue meetings of February 18 and 19 this year, President Jagdeo proposed an extension to the end of March 2002. The White Paper on Land Distribution was tabled in Parliament on May 9, 2002.

** The Bauxite Resuscitation Committee - On February 2002, President Jagdeo and Mr. Hoyte met with the members of this Committee. It was agreed that it would focus on the LINMINE privatisation issue. A negotiating team comprising representatives from the Government and the Opposition would set up to engage OMAI/Cambior for the privatisation of LINMINE. On February 19 Mr. Hoyte was asked to submit his representative. He subsequently submitted Mr. P.Q. DeFreitas’ name. Messrs Winston Brassington and Winston Jordan from the Government and Mr. DeFreitas from the Opposition make up the negotiating Committee. This has resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Guyana Government and OMAI/Cambior.

** Depressed Communities Needs Committee - Four areas were identified by the Committee: Non Pariel/Enterprise, Buxton, De Kinderen and Meten-Meer-Zorg. The Government has set aside $60M to carry out work in these areas. Already, work had started substantially in these four areas. An earlier delay at DeKinderen was as a result of it being a squatting area unlike the other communities. The policy of GPL is that electricity would be provided after the area was regularised. The regularisation process normally takes just under a year. However, the Ministry of Housing and water had put this area on fast track. On February 19, President Jagdeo shared with Mr. Hoyte a letter from Minister Baksh on the status of regularisation of the DeKinderen squatting area. Work is proceeding in all these areas. President Jagdeo shared with Mr. Hoyte a letter from Minister Baksh on the status of regularisation of the DeKinderen squatting area. Work is proceeding in all these areas.