EXCISING THE PRESIDENTIAL CARBUNCLE

In his article last Wednesday in Future Notes, (‘Some suggestions for constitutional reform’), Dr. Henry Jeffrey, advanced extensive views on constitutional reform. In order not to lose the momentum and opportunity of a discourse on the subject, I now seek to give some opinions of my own in the hope that they will add to […]

TRUST AND POLITICS IN GUYANA

General Secretary of the PPP, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, declared at his press conference last week that the PPP has no problem with shared governance and the ‘winner does not take all’ principle. After all, he said, the PPP established its Civic component in pursuit of the realization of ‘winner does not take all.’ […]

THE PNCR – ITS PAST AND FUTURE

Once again the issue of an apology from the PNCR has become topical. First raised with Opposition Leader David Granger while he was on a visit to the United States, it emerged again at a press conference in Guyana. Mr. Granger repeated a long established PNCR policy, designed to deflect public pressure, that there would […]

QUID PRO QUO

The Peoples’ National Congress (‘PNC’) Government nationalised the Demerara Bauxite Company in 1971. At that time article 8 of the Constitution of Guyana provided for the payment of “reasonable” compensation. The Bauxite Nationalisation Act (‘Act’) of 1971 amended ‘reasonable’ to give constitutional validity to the nationalization. At that time the PNC did not have a […]

SYSTEMIC VIOLENCE AND CORRUPTION IN THE POLICE FORCE

Violence and corruption in the police force can no longer be classified as allegations. They are real and are now an integral part of the culture of the Police Force and policing in Guyana. The sooner the authorities accept that these are chronic and systemic problems in the Police Force, the quicker there will be […]