The arrangements for the resumption of the Social Partners’ initiative to create the environment for the implementation of Article 13 of the Constitution has taken a back seat to the electricity and water woes at Linden.
Because of the almost two-week-old crisis, the Social Partners have been unable to complete their consultations with the government and the parliamentary opposition on its ideas for monitoring the implementation of the agreed constitutional reforms and the decisions of the joint consultations.
They have met with the representatives of the donor community which has indicated an interest in supporting the secretariat and in printing 10,000 copies of the revised Constitution of Guyana.
The Social Partners, however, have so far been unable to meet with the parliamentary opposition but have plans to do so shortly once their leaders have finished dealing with the situation at Linden.
Their ideas for monitoring the implementation of the constitutional reforms were circulated to the parties in advance of the resumption of the joint consultations, adjourned from September 11 that the Social Partners had planned to convene on March 10.
For a number of reasons including President Bharrat Jagdeo’s trip to China, the Social Partners were unable to complete the preparations for the meeting to have been held on that date or later in the month.
Among the proposals the Social Partners circulated is the establishment of a secretariat staffed by a small professional staff to monitor the implementation of the constitutional reforms as well as service the ongoing consultative process and the draft terms of reference of such a secretariat.
This secretariat, the Social Partners said, could also carry forward the work already undertaken to identify the obstacles to the establishment of approved constitutional and other commissions and committees.
In addition they said that the staff of the secretariat could assist in designing and drafting reconciliation and recovery programmes within, and between the volatile villages and communities on the East Coast Demerara.
This work they said would necessarily be undertaken in full consultation with the residents of the affected communities and with support from local authorities, non-governmental and other organisations.
The Social Partners intend, if the Joint Consulta-tion approved of the initiative, to set up the secretariat to initiate discussions with the relevant government, parliamentary and other officials to bring it to fruition.