ABSTRACT
Guyana in a constitutional sense evolved typically from Dutch and British colonialism through internal self-government to independence, first under a monarchical regime and later under what has been termed 'co-operative republicanism'. The Guyana representative institution was sui generis having its origin in the Dutch settlement of Essequibo, where the settlers from Holland established their first colony in the early 17th century. Later the Dutch were to settle in Demerara and Berbice as well. Representative government was, however, restored in British Guiana in 1957 and, in 1961, the colony was granted a measure of internal self-government. The 1966 Independence Constitution followed the typical Westminster pattern of constitution granted to newly independent Commonwealth countries, but it was changed in 1970 to a presidential regime where the President possessed the same ceremonial powers of the Governor General. The public service and the judiciary require high calibre technocrats to enable these services to achieve any measure of economic development.
