He said he was encouraged and dismayed by the views in the article headed `IMF/World Bank team advocates power-sharing mechanisms'.

"I was encouraged because, by and large, these views are consistent with the views of the Guyana Government and the governing political party, the PPP/C. I was dismayed because the team apparently ignored progress made in the directions they recommended and has also failed to give recognition, if not commendation to the Government, for the many efforts of the Government to give effect to these views", he said in his response.

Ramsammy said he knows that senior officials of both the IMF and the World Bank have observed and are themselves encouraged by the moves of the Guyana Government to institutionalise the principles of inclusive governance in Guyana.

"I am certain that they, like many of us, would want to see more rapid progress in the concretisation of the provisions already agreed to by all stakeholders and to see, as the President has outlined, other built in layers to provide opportunities for inclusive governance", he said.

In his response, made available to the Chronicle, he said it was not "my intention to address all the points raised in their paper, but the writers were obviously poorly informed or dishonest in presenting their perspective of `shared governance' in Guyana."

Ramsammy added:

"Guyana's efforts in the last decade to build a democratic society should not be trivialised and its valiant attempts to develop an inclusive democracy, especially in the last five years, should be given recognition. There is room for acceleration and all of us should work towards this goal.

Too many of us discount Guyana's "lost" decades of the 1970s and 1980s in regards to the severe erosion of democratic processes in Guyana. The PPP/C Government has been able to build on the start that was provided through the restoration of free and fair elections in Guyana in 1992. Elections, foundations on which democratic governance are built, have been held in 1997, 1994 and 2001, all of which have been declared to be free and fair by reputable observers from local and international organisations and from international Governments. These elections were in stark contrast to elections prior to 1992, which were all declared by reputable observers to be blatantly rigged.

The PPP/C Government deserves commendation for both sustaining and enhancing democratic processes in Guyana.

The institutions and processes that guarantee freedom and democracy and that enhance transparency and inclusive governance have not all matured and many more mechanisms need to be considered to make them effective. But in each case, our institutions and processes have made remarkable progress to erase the tradition of non-democratic practices characteristic of the pre-1992 period. If we are going to be effective players in improving and enhancing the path towards an ideal governance model, we must all be prepared to acknowledge the improvement of Guyana's governance model and accept that departures from the dictatorial traditions of the pre-1992 era could only result from a process which takes time. Acknowledgement of the progress made in terms of democratic processes and inclusiveness is not in any way ignoring the fact that other layers of democratic processes and inclusiveness are certainly needed.

One of the great challenges any society confronts as it seeks to institutionalise good, democratic and inclusive governance is to develop a sense of responsibility and good faith among those who are natural competitors to play effective roles in whatever the model of inclusive governance. The most important aspect of an inclusive governance model is that all stakeholders are prepared to assume trusting and responsible roles, including possessing the important capacity to make necessary concessions for the welfare of the country and its citizens. This is the mistake we always make because few of us give recognition to the important caveat that it is people, not just processes, that make a model work. Guyana suffers from the fact that the PNC, either in Government between 1964 to 1992 or as Opposition Party since 1992, finds it difficult to work as a team and to understand that it cannot presume that its views are the only correct ones.

The Government embraces the "shared governance" position that the IMF and World Bank personnel discuss and the Government has made moves to institutionalise them. Indeed, the model in Guyana is even more advanced than the Barbadian model, although in Barbados it works better for the time being. It works better in Barbados because the various stakeholders behave responsibly and because the stakeholders have developed experience in working together in a "trusting" relationship.

Contrary to the impression created by the paper from the IMF/World Bank personnel, Guyana leads the region in terms of avenues for inclusiveness. The major problem is that these avenues remain unexplored. The PPP/C Government is not only committed to inclusive governance, but is proud of its leading role in promoting and implementing inclusive governance in Guyana.

The prerequisite to building an inclusive society is the willingness of all to accept free and fair elections as a foundation for a free, democratic and inclusive society. It would be hypocritical of stakeholders if they were not forthright in defending this principle. Civic society and international organisations must be unequivocal in their stance on this issue and must demonstrate that they remain unimpressed by political parties that refuse to play by rules endorsed by all. Too many persons and organisations have soft pedalled the unreasonable position of the PNC of not accepting election results simply because it reflects rejection by the electorate.

Article 13 of the Reformed Constitution establishes the principle of inclusive governance that all stakeholders subscribed to through the extensive constitution reform consultations between 1994 and 2000. This Article establishes inclusive governance whereby Government creates space for the participation of non-political stakeholders in the governance and development of Guyana as one of the pillars upon which inclusive governance would be built. Together with the provisions for increased participation of the members of Parliament on both sides of the House, Article 13 and related Articles and other mechanisms established by the Government provide Guyana with quite substantial avenues for the creation of a true and effective inclusive society. Guyana is far ahead in this regard than Barbados and other CARICOM countries.

The fact is that even before the Constitutional Reforms, the PPP/C has been building this inclusive society. The following are some of the actions or provisions that have contributed to an inclusive society. These actions give meaning to Article 13 in order to build an inclusive society. But as the President stated in the paper `Towards Greater Inclusive Governance' he presented on February 8th, other layers of inclusiveness must be developed if Guyana is to craft ultimately the ideal inclusive democratic governance model we all seem to embrace today.

1. Abandonment of the Party Paramountcy principle: the PPP/C and the Government that it has formed are separate entities and the Government is allowed to function without the interference of the PPP/C.

2. Local Government permits for a certain degree of inclusive governance - the Establishment of a Local Government Commission. Indeed, after the 2001 elections, the governing party controls the RDCs of five regions (Regions 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6), while the main Opposition Party controls two RDCs (Regions 4 and 10) and the RDCs of three regions (Regions 7, 8 and 9) are controlled through coalitions between the PNC and GAP/WPA. The opposition controls the two main municipalities, Georgetown and New Amsterdam. Strong local government provides the basis for community-led development and at the community level could promote community interest rather than political loyalty. The work of the Local Government Committee established through the dialogue process must be allowed to continue and the establishment of a Local Government Commission as mandated by the Constitution should be urgently pursued. More effective local government is one of the most effective strategies to concretise "shared" governance.

3. Governance through independent autonomous technical and service agencies. These agencies include the Auditor General's Office, the Elections Commission, the Police Service Commissions, the Teachers Service Commission, the Judicial Service Commission, the GPHC, the Supreme Court, the University of Guyana and the Ombudsman Office. The above agencies together with the many Boards constitute an effective avenue for promoting inclusive governance. Prior to 1992, there was little chance of accomplishing this because the commissions and boards were put together within the concept of party paramountcy. In terms of the service commissions and other independent agencies provided for in the Constitution (for example the various Human Rights Commissions), Guyana has considerable opportunities to exercise the principles of shared governance and inclusiveness addressed in Article 13 of the Constitution. There are various formulations in place for the appointments of the various commissions and boards. An examination of the processes involved in the appointments of persons to sit on commissions and boards would reveal the vast extent of the involvement of broad-based stakeholders and demonstrates how far Guyana has traversed the path towards greater inclusiveness in our governance model. No doubt as time elapses, modification and fine-tuning would lead to greater consolidation of these processes.

4. Establishing Consultations as a Statutory Exercise: Provisions for consultations with the Opposition and with civic society have been enshrined in the reformed constitution. The new constitution makes provision for Parliament to establish laws that define and provide guidelines for consultations. The guidelines are to become law only with a two-thirds majority. No constitution in the region has this provision. In addition, the Constitution of Guyana is replete with examples of appointments and actions made or taken by the President that are only possible after meaningful consultations with the Leader of the Opposition. Are these not concrete examples of shared governance?

5. Promoting Dialogue: in terms of consultation, the political process of dialogue between the President and the Leader of the Opposition represents another avenue for inclusiveness. Perhaps, such dialogue could be extended to include Leaders of other political parties in Parliament.

6. Encouraging civic society/political parties collaboration: the dialogue led to the establishment of several committees made up of political, civic society and technical representatives. This proved to be an effective model for inclusiveness.

7. Creating Room for NGOs: Guyana has taken important steps to establish meaningful roles for NGOs and civic society. NGOs and civic society have made important strides in carving out a role in Guyanese society during the last decade. An example can be seen by examining the local subvention budget, which has grown several fold over the last decade. The 2003 budget estimates show that the subvention to local agencies and NGOs amount to approximately $5B or approximately 8% of the non-interest government expenditure. No government in CARICOM could match this level of non-government participation in the execution of publicly funded programmes.

8. Reducing the Powers of the Presidency: the reformed constitution addresses the enormous powers of the Presidency and considerably diminishes these powers. It is important to recognise the strength of these provisions: the process does not only seek to strengthen the participation of the Opposition in Parliament, but also extends shared governance to civic society in that there are attempts to extend the independence of the service commissions while also giving them greater powers in appointments.

9. New Constitutional Commissions create room for Civil Society participation: establishment of Human Rights and other commissions, including the Commissions for Indigenous People, Women and Gender, Children, Ethnic Relations, and the Procurement Commissions would expand the opportunities for civil society to participate in the governance process. The provisions guiding the compositions of these commissions were crafted by all political parties to ensure independence and to ensure that governance is extended far beyond just government or parliament or political parties.

10. Establishment of Standing Committee on Constitutional Reform: this would be a Standing Commission of Parliament that invites civil society as members. This Commission would be mandated to continuously add layers for shared governance that promotes inclusivity.

11. Enhancing the Role of Parliament: once all the changes agreed to are implemented, Guyana's Parliament would be the most advanced in terms of a `shared' governance model than any in the Caribbean, including being far more advanced than the Barbadian Legislature. It is important to recognise the changes that have been made pertaining to Parliament in the efforts to make the legislative body more meaningful in the context of shared governance:

* The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been able to examine the Auditor General's report up to the end of 2000 and is actively considering the 2001 report, making Guyana the most up-to-date country in this respect within CARICOM.

* The function of the PAC has been extended and it now has responsibility for the Auditor General's Office.

* The Constitution makes provision for the establishment of various human rights commissions and commissions that add to financial and procurement accountability. The Human Rights Commission that oversees Commissions for Indigenous Peoples, Children, Women and Gender and Ethnic Rights not only creates avenues for shared political responsibility in terms of appointments, but also expands the inclusiveness principle by extending governance to civic society.

* Parliament is intended to have a Standing Committee on Appointments to consider appointment matters. This includes making nominations for the various service commissions and the various human rights commission. While there was much haggling and the PNC/R refused to come to Parliament to permit the establishment, it should be very encouraging that the Committee was appointed on April 2 with the full blessing of the PNC/R.

* The provisions to establish Standing Sector Committees for National Security, Natural Resources, Social Sector Development and Foreign Affairs in Parliament provide enormous avenues for shared responsibility. Indications are that these committees should be in place within the next few weeks.

* The implementation of the Parliamentary Management Committee principle would move Guyana ahead of all the CARICOM countries and enhance inclusive governance.

* Each region now has specific persons representing them in Parliament. The concept of geographical representation has been improved since the 2001 election and further consideration for enhancement is to be considered for future general elections.

* Political parties must now ensure that 33% of their candidates for political elections are women candidates. The result is that women now represent 31% of the elected representatives in Parliament in Guyana, more than all countries in the Caribbean and among the top 20 in the world.

* Greater use has been made of special select committees during the last 10 years. For example, special select committees improved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill, the Pesticide Bill and the Amendment for the Medical Practitioners Act.

* Enhanced use of members' day whereby Opposition members could ask questions, make statements and move motions has recently been pursued with greater commitment. The PNC/R used this provision effectively on February 19th when the new Leader of the PNC introduced a motion on Members' day in Parliament. Mrs. Sheila Holder has sent dozens of questions to Cabinet members for answers.

* There is provision for a Parliamentary Standing Committee for Constitutional Reform.

1. The PPP/C has offered Shadow Minister status to the Opposition: the parliamentary mechanism of shadow ministers is an effective way of consultation and inclusiveness by extending dialogue to Ministers and their counterparts in the Opposition.

2. The President's Youth Initiative: young people banding themselves together for positive community activities could be a powerful force for inclusiveness.

3. Building a Free and Independent Press: an important part of an inclusive society is a free, but responsible press. No one can dispute that Guyana has one of the freest press in the hemisphere. The Media Committee made up of political and civil society members has made recommendations that the Government is ready to implement in order to enhance the role of the press.

4. The National Development Strategy: the National Development Strategy was the result of work by technical persons across the political and civil society spectrum.

5. The National Poverty Reduction Strategy: this was another exercise conducted by persons across the political and civil society spectrum.

Guyana has been innovative and bold in taking many steps to enhance inclusiveness. The overt effort of the PNC/R to obtain power and their flirtations with criminal elements and dishonest political commentators stand in the way of shared inclusive governance.