Guyana’s digital push strengthens democracy, human rights – Teixeira

– says platforms boost citizen participation, governance

The Government’s aggressive digitisation drive is being used to advance human rights and governance issues in Guyana.
This is according to Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister Gail Teixeira during a National Stakeholders Forum hosted by her Ministry on Tuesday under the theme “Strengthening Access and Accountability through Digital Platforms”.
Currently, there are digital platforms such as Citizens Connect, which facilitates feedback and complaints from the public; Gov Connect, which can be used to access key Government services and set appointments; and Skills Connect, which links persons with job opportunities.
Minister Teixeira explained that online platforms like these are intrinsically linked to two key issues under her Ministry – governance structures that are based on democracy and human rights.
Citing Article 13 of Guyana’s Constitution, which speaks to citizen participation in the decision-making process, Teixeira pointed out that the Citizens Connect platform allows for that ‘inclusionary democracy’.
“Under Article 30, the whole issue of participation, consultation, and inclusion is a critical component… The more the citizens of our country can participate through the use and with the assistance of digital platforms, that is in fact enhancing our democracy and our human rights platforms and our human rights generally in the country. So, this is a very tangible, practical way to be able to strengthen the human rights and governance structures of Guyana,” she stated.
The Minister further noted that Guyana is now better positioned to benefit from digital governance with more than 900,000 cell phone owners in the country. This, she added, coupled with other interventions by the Government to improve connectivity, especially in the hinterland regions through the WiFiGY programme and the ICT hubs, is also geared towards enhancing the human rights of the country’s indigenous peoples.
“These platforms are based on the premise that we have connectivity. If we didn’t have connectivity, we wouldn’t be able to have these platforms… It is only within the last five years that we became a connected country… The fact that people can connect with each other and connect with Government is important,” Teixeira underscored.
She added that these platforms not only strengthen accessibility but also remove structural and geographical hurdles that citizens encounter when accessing various Government services – something that she says will be further expanded in the future.
“As these programmes develop [and] as we diversify more, we’ll come to a stage where you’ll be able to apply online for your passport and for access to different services… Some of them are partially there, while some of them are not fully there as yet. And so, this is reducing the barriers that people have faced, which are economic or geographic, to be able to access some of the services in a timely way,” the Minister noted.
In addition to enhancing accessibility, Teixeira outlined that these digital platforms also provide data that would inform critical decision-making by the Government. For instance, she noted that in the past, many persons, especially those in rural areas and hinterland locations, did not register for birth certificates due to various issues, but now with easier access to registration, the Government has a truer picture of the population.
“These innovations help us to bring more and more people into the realm of what is our society and to become more engaged… When we do these programmes, how does it help the Government?… It provides us with a wealth of data that allows us in real time to analyse and to see where issues are…and it allows the Government to respond.”
“A lot of talk goes on about access to information, but it’s amazing what you can get online, on websites, regarding what the Government is doing and what programmes or policies are available… And so, the issue of the population – you know, a well-informed population is one of the biggest and most important guardians of democracy and democratic governance in any country. A population that is not well-informed is one that can be misinformed and could feel isolated and divorced from the Government and all the processes through which they can access services,” the Minister stressed.
Meanwhile, as the Government continues to roll out a number of online platforms as part of its digitisation drive, other key deliverables of these initiatives include the ability to remove human biases from the process and cut out corruption, as well as enhance compliance with local laws and regulations by educating citizens.