The Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TTEITI) held a Regional Symposium on Strengthening CARICOM Energy Collaboration today in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The symposium was attended by representatives from government ministries and agencies, private sector, academia, media and civil society. This symposium expounded the importance of transparency and accountability of extractive industries, particularly revenue generation, in the fight against corruption as well as the need for improved integration of the EITI process in national governance systems for the extractive industries (whether voluntary or mandatory).
Senator the Honourable Franklin Khan, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries delivered the keynote address. Interestingly, he opened his speech with a controversial statement on his views about participatory democracy. According to him, participatory governance should be the remit of the Government who have been constitutionally elected to represent the best interests of the citizenry of the country. He went on to say that civil society groups may not have the citizen's interests at heart and should not seek to usurp the power of the elected Government with respect to decision making on the management of the country's natural resources, which includes the extractive industries. Instead, these civil society groups should collaborate on matters when the Government seeks them out as necessary.
Just three days prior, I participated in an National Workshop on collective advocacy by civil society, which is part of the ‘CSOs for Good Governance: Enhancing civil society’s contribution to governance and development processes in Trinidad and Tobago’(CSOs4GoodGov) funded by the European Union and being undertaken by a consortium of local CSOs including CANARI, Veni Apwann, United Way and Environment Tobago. I am currently undertaking a consultancy to develop a report and case studies on advocacy strategies, lessons learnt and recommendations by local CSOs under this project. This workshop was timely and attended by CSOs who are part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Catalyst Network, which was established under the CSO4GoodGov Project as well as other CSOs.
During this workshop CSOs underscored their crucial role leading transformational change towards ensuring sustainable development that was equitable, inclusive and environmentally sound for T&T. Interestingly, I found that quite a few CSOs did not truly recognize their power and influence in advocating for meaningful change and holding governments accountable in meeting the SDGs by 2030. However, over the two days I think CSOs appreciated their critical role in advocacy for sustainable development. In particular, the importance of collaboration and collective advocacy amongst CSOs where highlighted in enabling meaningful change of behaviours which can influence policies and practices at any level. Moreover, CSOs agreed that advocacy needed a values framework to support positive change in society.
One of the group sessions, involved understanding the value of collective advocacy in implementing the SDGs. The aim of our collective advocacy group exercise was "to enhance the recognition of the role of the civil society sector as an equal partner in achieving the SDGs". CSOs highlighted issues faced by civil society in being part of decision making processes on key national development issues. CSOs agreed that their involvement in consultations on national policies or projects on sustainable development issues by Government ministries and agencies amounted to little more than tokenism, since they were not truly involved in formulation, implementation or evaluation of these policies or projects. Moreover, active participation of CSOs in the implementation of the SDGs provide legitimacy of representation, increased parity and improved governance.
Participatory governance is a key element in successfully acheiving the SDGs, especially in a small island developing state like Trinidad and Tobago. Civil society should not passively wait until they are sought out by Government partners or private sector companies for their views and instead should proactively engage with Government and private sector stakeholders who are involved in implementing the SDGs. Civil society should no longer advocate separately on related issues and should instead actively engage in collaboration towards collective advocacy on sustainable development issues. Through collective advocacy and action, civil society would be able to hold the Government accountable towards implementing the SDGs by 2030. I think therein lies the inherent power of civil society - the power of collaboration. The SDGs Catalysts Network agreed to finalize a Community Agreement for collective advocacy on the SDGs and not a moment too soon.
I am grateful that the Minister gave his honest opinion about governance and the role of civil society in decision making. It is quite timely, given the recent national workshop for civil society. It also clearly demonstrates the current mindset by Government on civil society and their role in governance. It also enables civil society to devise a collective advocacy strategy that is meaningful, impactful and proactive on ensuring their role as equal partners in sustainable development.
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