Govt remains committed to inclusionary and local democracy – President Granger
DPI, Guyana, Friday, August 17, 2018
President David Granger today restated his administration’s commitment to the practice of inclusionary democracy. The Head of State was speaking at the opening of the Peoples’ National Congress/Reform’s (PNC/R) 20th Biennial Delegates Congress.
The president pointed to the PNC/R’s instrumental role in the establishment of an inclusionary five-party Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in June 2011, which then entered into the Cummingsburg Accord in February 2015 with the Alliance for Change (AFC).
The APNU+AFC Coalition Government is committed to constructive dialogue with the parliamentary opposition and with civil society to strengthen the practice of inclusionary democracy, the ideals of coalition politics and to the broader aspiration of national unity, the president assured.
He said the Coalition is dedicated to perfecting the system of shared governance in the belief that the coalition parties are “better together than apart.”
“Our commitment to the practice of ‘an inclusionary democracy’ has been vindicated, confirming the efficacy and necessity of the unique coalition that we created and which the electorate accepted. Our coalition Government has brought unquestionable benefits to the Guyanese people in every field,” President Granger stated.
The Coalition Administration, he noted has allowed for the deployment of broad expertise for nation-building, reignited hope and galvanized goodwill to confront the challenges inherited in 2015, upon assumption to office.
Further, the Head of State said the Coalition Government has re-invigorated the system of local democracy.
“We [Government] have ended the previous regime’s odious practice of removing elected municipalities and installing the ignominious ‘interim management committees,” the president stated.
Local Government Elections (LGE) were held on March 18, 2016, less than a year after the Coalition Government entered into office, after not being held for almost two decades.
The president said these elections have empowered citizens, energized communities and eliminated “one of the sources of strife and stagnation.”
Reference was made to the convening of the National Conference of Local Democratic Organs which, the president noted, has become a vehicle promoting greater communication and meaningful cooperation between the regional democratic administrations, municipalities, the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and Central Government.
The establishment of the four news towns; Bartica, Mabaruma, Mahdia and Lethem, the ‘National Day of Villages’ were also highlighted as examples of the Administration’s commitment to local democracy.
President Granger said the Congress has an important role to play in not only reassessing the party’s performance over the past two years but also charting the way forward with proposed policies and programmes.
This role is paramount given that this is the last Congress before the hosting of Local Government Elections (LGE) and General elections.
By: Stacy Carmichael
Image: Keno George