City Mayor Hamilton Green yesterday referred to the claims of the government hijacking the plans for the Year of African-descended people as “a bit exaggerated,” and he insists that a lack of trust is fuelling the disagreement.
Green is the vice-chairman of the Central State Planning Committee, and he told Stabroek News that the concerns being raised are expected based on the government’s track record. He said that Director of Culture Dr James Rose held a meeting with the planning committee on Tuesday to discuss the issue, and the matter has since been referred to “higher authority”.
Several major African groups including the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) and the All African Guyanese Council, which represents a number of groups, have accused the government of planning the agenda for the International Year for People of African Descent (IYPAD) observances, without properly consulting them.
The groups said they are displeased with the process and have called for the official January 16 launch to be postponed until a mutually agreed upon programme is established. Reports are that the plans for the launch are currently on hold.
But on Tuesday the Ministry of Culture denied that the groups were not properly consulted, and it charged that ACDA withdrew from the process since June last year. The ministry said it was astounded to learn that the groups would convey the impression that the government, through that ministry, either sought to exclude legitimate Afro-Guyanese representative organisations from its planning, or somehow deliberately did not consult enough with the widest possible spectrum of such organisations.
Eric Phillips of ACDA said yesterday that the issues remained unresolved, since the meeting which they requested with Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony is yet to be scheduled. He called the ministry’s statement, “contradictory and inaccurate”, saying that ACDA was never part of the process.
“A lot of wrong information is out there on this issue and I would like Dr Rose or the Minister to name the persons who are on the sub-committees and have them identify one ACDA member,” Phillips said while questioning how his organisation could be part of the process and excluded from the decision-making bodies.
Secretary General of the All African Guyanese Council (AAGC) Jonathan Adams told this newspaper yesterday that the council had met since last year and agreed to support the agenda as outlined for the observances this year. However, he said the council was forced to “back-pedal” out of concern about the process and how things have unfolded.
Adams said that his group was never formally invited to the scheduled meetings, and the ministry has basically acted as if the AAGC did not exist. The organization, he said, was formed back in 2003 and currently represents 16 other groups; the Guyana Rastafarian Council holds the rotating chair.
Asked whether the council had indicated an interest in being part of the process, Adams answered in the negative saying that many in the group felt disrespected after they were not included during the initial discussions. He said the government is aware of the council because correspondence was sent to the group in the past.
But Adams explained that while the council was not part of the process, he was. He said he acted in his private capacity and was involved at “some level”. He said the council stands firm with ACDA and the others, in insisting that the major African groups ought to have a say in any agenda which is being put forward for the year.
In addition, Adams said, the council has planned a few activities to observe the year, adding that they will kick things off on Saturday at St Stanislaus College with a conversation on the state of the African Guyanese Food System; former Agriculture Minister Dr Simpson DaSilva would be among the speakers at the event.
He said too that the council has several other activities planned for the year including lobbying the government for the contributions of Africans to the development of Guyana to be recognized. He also mentioned that the group is coordinating a film festival.
Blocked
Meanwhile, Working People Alliance (WPA) member Dr David Hinds said on Tuesday that the attempt by the government to hijack the programme for the year must be “exposed, resisted and blocked at all cost”. He charged that it is an insult to African Guyanese that their representatives have not been included in the initial deliberations regarding the formulation of the official programme.
“As the elected government, the PPP administration has a right to facilitate but it has absolutely no right to use its authority to engage in ethnic politicking,” Hinds said. He argued that the strength of the country as a multi-ethnic society is enhanced when various ethnic groups are afforded the human right of self-definition and self-expression.
Hinds said too that African Guyanese should use this year to begin the process of regaining lost ground, but more importantly to re-assert their co-ownership of Guyana.
Speaking on the issue, activist Lincoln Lewis said any act to circumscribe the vision of African Guyanese by the PPP government must be seen as disrespect for Africans’ right to self-determination.
