The International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G), while acknowledging that the government is not mandated to provide it with funding, said that they are considering legal action to force the reinstatement of its $8 million monthly subvention for the remainder of 2022.
Chair of IDPADA-G’s Coordinating Council, Vincent Alexander relayed the consideration at a press conference yesterday. He said that the government has been withholding its parliamentary appropriated subvention since September which has crippled critical programmes.
“In the face of the non-disbursement of the subvention, IDPADA-G has been unable to honour some of its debts, including salaries. As a consequence, staff contracts have been terminated to avoid incurring further debt. Fundraising has been embarked upon to sustain the remodelled operations of IDAPDA-G. In the interim, low-cost activities or activities not requiring financial outlays or sponsored activities are being undertaken. One such activity was IDPADA-G’s annual members’ meeting which was convened on October 9, 2022,” Alexander said yesterday.
IDPADA-G, according to its website, was set up to craft the Guyana plan for the International Decade for People of African Descent in keeping with the provisions of the UN’s resolution inclusive of mechanisms for implementing, superintending, monitoring the plan as may be deemed necessary. IDPADA-G says that it is an assembly of African organizations and its general assembly is made up of one representative from each of the registered organizations. The organization consists of the General Assembly, a Coordinating Council, a Secretariat and Sub-committees.
Former President David Granger had started the funding for IDPADA-G in 2018. The organization’s objectives include expanding Afro-Guyanese’s share in the economy; increasing access to training and employment opportunities; restoring excellence in education, ensuring equity, justice and the respect of human and civil rights; demanding reparations; and the preservation of Afro-Guyanese history and culture. It is unclear what arrangements were made for the auditing of the expenditure.
There has been a public spat between the government and IDPADA-G for a number of months with the government accusing the body of mismanaging its funds.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has been at the centre of the spat and has since accused the organisation of being a private company and not doing anything to further the development of people of African descent.
At yesterday’s press conference, Alexander said that the contentions by Jagdeo are false and aimed at deliberately misleading the public. He added that the government’s “harassment of, and attempt to silence, IDPADA-G” took on new life when Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr instructed that all financial records, including payment vouchers, payroll, contracts and receipts for expenditures be handed over to the Ministry.
IDPADA-G responded to that request by advising the Minister that the Ministry of Finance’s Central Internal Audit Unit had already conducted and reported on an investigation into the Receipts and Disbursement of funds by IDPADA-G for the period 2018 to 2021. Additionally, a copy of the report resulting from that audit was forwarded to the Minister, since his request sought to duplicate what had already been done by the Ministry of Finance.
IDPADA-G also volunteered to have the financial records for the current year (2022) audited by a mutually agreed-to auditor, although those records are statutorily due for an audit at the end of 2022.
Alexander said that there has been no response, to date, to IDPADA-G’s letter as well as requests for the subvention.
“To wit, the Ministries of Culture, Youth and Sports, and Finance were subsequently written to requesting the disbursements or explanations as to why none was forthcoming. Given the apparent attempt to discontinue the subvention, legal advice is being sought,” he told reporters.
He said that they are expecting the final position of their legal team by the end of next week and that would determine their next move.
Alexander said that the government is legally bound to provide IDPADA-G with funding up until the end of 2022 since the funds were approved in the budget.
“We are confident because this subvention is not a discretionary act of the government. It is the law. We were granted the subvention under the Appropriation Act of 2021 in relation to 2022. This is a legal obligation that the parliament has approved so we are confident that there is no obligation other than to restore the subvention of 2022,” Alexander said.
He added “…government is, not, as far as I know, mandated [to provide funding. Suffice it to say that the government has engaged IDPADA-G and as a consequence of that engagement, the parliament has appropriated funds.”
IDPADA-G Coordinating Council is convinced that the decision to withhold its subvention stems from its facilitation of an advertisement of Cuffy 250’s annual forum under the theme: “Resisting the Emerging Apartheid State”.
Cuts and remodelling
Prior to September, IDPADA-G had a staff complement of 20 persons with a monthly salary bill of just about $4 million. According to Chief Executive Officer Olive Sampson, IDPADA-G was forced to terminate the services of 10 of its programme officers. That now brings the organisation’s wages bill to just about $1.8 million per month.
However, she noted that those terminated employees still need to be paid salaries for September as well as an additional month for notice given. She explained that coupled with expenses from ongoing programmes IDPADA-G has a debt of over $10.5 million.
“We hired a consultant a few years ago to help determine appropriate salary levels in Guyana and our salaries are pegged to the public service and they are on the lower end. There is no high salary in IDPADA-G. At the beginning of the year, I took a salary cut of $100,000 per month because I wanted to be able to ensure we had staff adequate to do the work. So cutting my own salary we were able to expend more [on programmes],” she said in response to questions from Stabroek News.
Sampson said that she has also decided not to accept a salary going forward.
Both Alexander and Sampson said that the body will be remodelling its operations to become more self-sufficient now.
Alexander said that the IDPADA-G’s annual assembly meeting passed a resolution calling on the government to honour its obligation in keeping with the provisions of the Appropriation Law which provides for the funding of IDPADA-G. The resolution is also seeking the continuation of the funding of IDPADA-G until the end of the Decade in demonstration of the State’s articulated commitment as exemplified by its support for the United Nation’s resolution, which declared the Decade and the attendant goals of recognition, justice and development for the People of African Descent, and the President’s embrace of Reparations at the United Nations on the occasion of the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
The Resolution also called upon the President to honour his verbal promises to meet with IDPADA-G as requested in writing on three occasions, two of which predated the public ridicule of IDPADA-G by the Vice-President and one subsequent to the onslaught.
“His statement at a public meeting in Mocha-Arcadia was however noted since on that occasion he espoused direct contact with communities and individuals rather than their civil society or elected representatives. The Resolution also resolved that IDPADA-G would take all necessary steps to have the subvention disbursed and continued unto the end of the Decade, as well as to ensure that IDPADA-G sustains its operations,” Alexander said.
He added that while they await the reinstatement of their subvention, IDPADA-G would focus on more advocacy work and continuing low-cost programmes.
