Dear Editor,
Over the past week, much disappointment has been expressed about the Town Clerk’s treatment of vendors and NCN affairs involving the removal of Ms Natasha Smith from anchoring the evening news and the suspension of Ms Jocelle Archibald-Hawke without salary in social and traditional media. For some Guyanese living abroad much to our chagrin, the NCN affair headlined the Caribbean news segment in the country where we currently reside. The three aforementioned cases are symptomatic of the equity problem that must be addressed expeditiously, in particular gender equality. Generally, we could benefit from leaders who display commitment to equity and social justice in the execution of their duties, not only in rhetoric. My contribution to this national conversation is to point to the opportunity before us to make Guyana a more equal society. Each one of us has the responsibility to ensure that such gross violations never recur.
Editor, I would like to offer three suggestions for consideration. Firstly, it would be of maximum benefit to the citizenry for all ministers, heads/CEOs of agencies, state boards, and other public servants to take personal responsibility for being acquainted with the Constitution of Guyana generally, and specifically as it relates to the sector under their purview.
Secondly, all senior-level public officials should benefit from a general orientation of Guyana’s legal framework for the protection and promotion of human rights within the first three months of appointment. These include but are not limited to the Conventions on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); the Rights of the Child (CRC); the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD); Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); and Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT); and the Prevention of Discrimination Act. This could become part of the curriculum for the Public Service Training Centre. In cases where prior exposure is lacking in human rights sensitization, public officials could benefit from orientation sessions by the experts on the Women and Gender Equality and the Child Rights Commissions as early as the first month of employment.
Finally, while it is commendable to review pregnancy clauses, it is most opportune to craft an overarching Equal Employment Opportunity policy that addresses prevention of discrimination in the workplace against diverse populations based on gender, ethnicity, geographic location and ‘ableness’. We also need employment policies that allow both men and women to fulfil their responsibilities for raising children and enhancing family life. Such policies should be careful to balance the power of employee and employer, and between public official and citizen, so that no party should abuse their power and oppress another without recourse. This may be in the remit of the Ministry of Social Cohesion tasked with addressing equality, along with duly established constitutional commissions ‒ WGEC, ERC, CRC ‒ and the Human Rights Commission and the Ombudsman. The national machinery and mechanisms are resourced annually to work for the entire population. Let us make good use of their expertise and grow Guyana into a progressive state where every citizen enjoys freedoms, and fulfil our responsibilities towards each other both in law and in practice.
Yours faithfully,
Roxanne Myers
