Diversity and unity in the governing coalition

guyana chronicle editorial

EVERYONE would agree that government is a complex process. It has to be. After all, one is dealing with an institution of institutions tasked with the job of managing the affairs of an entire country. In the case of Guyana, ours is an ethnically charged plural society with a history of flare-ups, which have sometimes threatened to blow the country away. While we have always managed to find a way to survive, the after-effects have multiplied. It is in this environment that a Guyanese Government has the difficult job of distributing common resources, promoting equality and ensuring the welfare of all. But in order to do so, Government itself has to enjoy some degree of legitimacy. In other words, a considerable majority of citizens has to believe the Government has the right to govern. This is where Governments in Guyana have had their work cut out—how does a one-party Government in our ethnically polarised society achieve the legitimacy needed for effective management of our political economy? Our current Government is a peculiar formulation. It is a coalition, but it’s not one in the classical mould. First, it includes one of our large mass-based parties that is grounded in one of our two contending enclaves. Such parties over time develop a proprietorship instinct–the territory belongs or should belong to them and any threat to that hold is viewed negatively. Second, it includes the newest major political party which, in two successive elections, did better than other third-parties that preceded it. Such parties tend to develop an inflated sense of their influence. Such a sense of self is needed to sustain self-belief and relevance. Third, it includes an old third-party whose record of struggle against the status quo over time and intellectual capital have combined to earn it a significant place in the political architecture of the country. Finally, there is an informal force in the form of the Ex-Soldiers which developed as an ally of the big party, but whose loyalties are to the leader, a former soldier. There are other individuals in the coalition who, because they do not represent functioning political parties, are not able to exercise institutional leverage as those listed above. However, they are members of the Government, with one holding a senior position. The Coalition, therefore, is a group of parties and individuals with varying backgrounds and ideological perspectives. They were motivated first and foremost by the need to rid the country of a Government which had completely lost its way. But that is not enough to effectively manage the ship of Government and state. The Coalition must now function as a cohesive unit even as its various parts maintain their independence. But given the complex nature and content of the Government, it is to be expected that it would take a longer than normal to begin to function. There were some early problems of communication which they seem to have worked out. Now is the time to muster the will to deliver a Government that would rise above fragmentation and party agenda.