Dear Editor,
The weekend of July 21 to 23, the period of July 30 to August 1, 2023, and August 5, 2023 will go down as seminal moments in the ongoing chasm between the current Government and the People of African Descent.
Those periods saw the Government summoning those members of IDPADA-G who had been invited to submit project proposals, in response to the Government`s call, to defend their proposals, one at a time, before the Minister and a small team of officials; and the launch of the surrogate Association of the People of African Descent (APAD).
The proposals were either approved or deferred, in the instances where the respondents accepted the offer and/or the invitation to meet. There are those who responded rejecting the offer to submit proposals, while others simply ignored the request. Notably, at least one prominent founding member of IDPADA-G was not invited to submit a proposal.
African Guyanese organizations which traditionally received grants for emancipation activities were invited to a meeting with President, where he provided grants, to the attending groups, for Emancipation celebrations; and outlined his Government`s intention to host activities to commemorate the bi-centennial anniversary of the 1823 Demerara Slave Revolt.
While, it is the Government`s prerogative to dole out grants, the irony is in the form and substance of such engagements with the African Guyanese community. In many regards it is reminiscent of the attitude of the colonizers towards the People of African Descent; a refusal to acknowledge the issues affecting the People of African Descent; and a denial and betrayal of the cause of the African Guyanese community. This is particularly stark, since we are in the midst of an internationally declared decade that acknowledges the issues confronting the Peoples of African Descent, and is dedicated to the resolution of those issues.
The United Nations in its declaration of the Decade for the People of African Descent clearly articulates the issues that should be addressed during the Decade and the approaches that should be taken in addressing those issues.
The United Nations General Assembly summarized the issues and the approach to their resolution in the following objectives:
(a)To strengthen national, regional and international action and cooperation in relation to the full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civic and political rights by people of African descent and their full and equal participation in all aspects of society;
(b)To promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies;
(c)To adopt and strengthen national, regional and international legal frameworks in accordance with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and to ensure their full and effective implementation.
It is against this background that IDPADA-G identifies the irony in the manner in which the Government is going about the Decade, and relating to the People of African Descent about the Decade.
The situation is further accentuated by the Government`s flagrant breaches of the Constitution, which it spouts. In that regard, the following provisions of the Constitution come to mind:
Article 11: Cooperatives, trade unions and all socio-economic organisations of a national character are entitled to participate in the various management and decision making processes of the state and particularly in the political, economic, social and cultural sectors of national life.
Article 12: Local government by freely elected representatives of the people is an integral part of the democratic organisation of the State.
Article 71: Local government is a vital aspect of socialist democracy and shall be organized so as to involve as many people as possible in the task of managing and developing the communities in which they live.
Article 74 (1) It shall be the primary duty of local democratic organs to ensure in accordance with law the efficient management and development of their areas and to provide leadership by example.
(2) Local democratic organs shall organise popular co-operation in respect of the political, economic, cultural and social life of their areas and shall co-operate with the social organisations of the working people.
Beyond the Constitution, CARICOM`s Charter of Civil Society to which Guyana subscribes enshrined the following obligations:
to create a truly participatory political environment within the Caribbean Community which will be propitious to genuine consultation in the process of governance.
to enter the Twenty-First Century on the basis of the best possible governance and to achieve and sustain such governance by mobilizing action for change.
To exemplify the irony referred to above, here are examples of the matter of conduct of affairs by the Ali government that flies in the face of the objectives of the United Nations resolution, the Constitution of Guyana and the Charter of Civil Society.
Addressing the African Guyanese on July 22, 2023 the President told the gathering that it is his intention to interact directly with the communities. This was a repeat of his previous comments in Mocha-Arcadia where he told a community gathering that he had no intention of engaging the locally elected officials. That statement is the same as the exact words of Jagdeo on the occasion of a recent gathering, in Plaisance. Notably, President Ali had previously, on three occasions, committed to engaging IDPADA-G. Those commitments have not been honoured and the President`s comments on July 22 and the launch of APAD are tantamount to an indication that he has no intention of fulfilling his commitment and is prepared to defy the provisions of the UN declaration, the Constitution, and the Charter of Civil Society, all of which the Government has signed on to and profess to uphold. Those national, regional and international binding obligations speak to involvement and participation of the people and their representatives and organisations. The PPP/C practices exclusion and emasculation.
Of equal and probably greater concern is the government’s inattention to the real issues affecting the People of African Descent. The objectives of the Decade clearly identifies the strengthening of the national, regional and international actions and cooperation in relation to the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural, civic and political rights by people of African descent and their full and equal participation in all aspects of society. Therein is the real problem to be addressed but the government neither addresses their participation, nor the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural, civic and political rights of the people of African descent.
The Guyanese of African Descent built the basic infrastructure of Guyana, including the drainage and irrigation systems, and buildings such as the Public Building without any compensation, while being treated as chattel and subjected to inhumane treatment. They however purchased plantations with their post emancipation/apprenticeship savings. They were denied the right to be involved in commercial activities. Until now, they are not taught their true history. They are castigated for dominating the jobs that they had to turn to for survival after their villages/farms were flooded and their livelihood compromised. They are berated as second class citizens on social media and in face to face interactions, not to mention that they were not good enough to be diplomats and are often bypassed for jobs and contracts, especially if they are not supportive of the Peoples` Progressive Party. Yet, the Government`s approach is to laud the struggle of the People of African Descent on the occasion of the celebration emancipation, while ignoring the debilitating consequences of enslavement and the post emancipation oppression and exploitation, which entrenched the People of African Descent at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. They are thus equated to others and told that there is no discrimination against them, when at least they are disadvantaged by the historical antecedents and require equitable treatment to be equalized with others.
The events occasioned by emancipation 2023 and the precursors clearly exemplify ignorance of, and/or indifference to, the reality of the historical and currently occasioned state of the People of African Descent.
No lip service about the struggle for emancipation, or celebration of those struggles can be a substitute for the recognition of the true state of the People of African Descent. No engineering of surrogate African organisations can provide for the people`s self-mobilization and representation. No by-passing of the people`s elected or organic representatives can meet the requirements of the UN resolution, the Constitution or the Civil Society Charter, nor provide authentic solutions.
The President has got to confront reality in addition to honouring his word. It is un-presidential, to say the least, of the President to repeatedly make promises which he does not honour.
The people and their representatives can best articulate their case, there is no substitute for their representation. In a democracy, the Government has to be responsive, rather than self-serving.
Yours sincerely,
Vincent Alexander
