Saturday, August 13, 2022
Village Voice News
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Letters
  • Global
  • Columns
    • Eye On Guyana
    • For Your Attention
    • Hindsight
    • Lincoln Lewis Speaks
    • In the village
    • Mind Your Business
    • Mark’s Take
    • Future Notes
    • Children & Youth
    • Bad & Bold
    • The Voice of Labour
    • Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds
    • Talking Dollars & Making Sense
    • Jacobs On Agriculture
    • Book Review 
    • My Turn Guyana
    • The Herbal Section
    • ECHO
  • Education & Technology
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Letters
  • Global
  • Columns
    • Eye On Guyana
    • For Your Attention
    • Hindsight
    • Lincoln Lewis Speaks
    • In the village
    • Mind Your Business
    • Mark’s Take
    • Future Notes
    • Children & Youth
    • Bad & Bold
    • The Voice of Labour
    • Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds
    • Talking Dollars & Making Sense
    • Jacobs On Agriculture
    • Book Review 
    • My Turn Guyana
    • The Herbal Section
    • ECHO
  • Education & Technology
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Village Voice News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Ethnic discrimination must be frontally addressed – Opp. Leader

Staff Reporter by Staff Reporter
March 2, 2021
in News
Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon

Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon

0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Support Village Voice News With a Donation of Your Choice.

By Svetlana Marshall
Weighing in on the issue of racism, which among other things took center stage during the debate on the 2021 National Budget, Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon, on Monday, said there is no time for cosmetology, as he challenged the country to frontally address the issue, which has divided the nation for decades.

From Day One of the Budget Debate on Monday, February 22, 2021, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament, Amanza Walton-Desir tackled the issues of racism and ethnic discrimination head-on as she pointed to the derogatory statements made by the country’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo belittling the Opposition, and the hundreds of Afro-Guyanese, who have been victimised at the hands of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration, many of whom have been fired.

READ ALSO

Financial Compensatory Packages Handed Over to Displaced Linden Squatters

WHO says COVID-19 deaths fallen by 9 per cent, infections stable

MP Walton-Desir and the other APNU+AFC Parliamentarians, who dared to have address the issue, have been accused by the PPP/C and the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) of engaging in “divisive politics” and allegedly attempting to “cultivate racism” in the House.

But as the curtains came down on the Budgetary Debate on Monday, the Leader of the Opposition reminded the House of the sentiments expressed by former President Hugh Desmond Hoyte (1985-1992) during the Budget Debate in the National Assembly in 1993.
In his contributions to the House, Hoyte had said: “Undoubtedly, this is an important matter and we would be doing ourselves and our country a disservice if we were to pretend that an ethnic question did not exist in our country.”
Like Hoyte, Harmon believes that the issue of race cannot be simply swept under the carpet or ignored.
“As political leaders we ought not to dis-acknowledge the fact of ethnic discrimination, because it exists, but we ought to confront it and deal with it in an intelligent and constructive manner,” the Opposition Leader told the House during his virtual presentation.
He said whether politicians believe it or not, there is a growing perception that ethnic discrimination is rampant in Guyana, and as such, it ought to be addressed.

Advertisement

“The point Mr Speaker is not whether what they perceive is right or wrong; the reality is their perception, and it is our duty as political leader to minimise that perception, and try to get people to understand that the better way is to find a modus vivendi in which all of us can live in peace and harmony,” Harmon told the House.
However, he warned that this is not the “time for cosmetology.”
President Irfaan Ali, during his inaugural address to the Parliament in February, announced his intention to establish a “One Guyana Commission” to foster national unity, however, the Opposition Leader said while labels such as “oneness” and “we are one” are good, they have to be more than just labels.

“The political will to resolve this issue in the best interest of the country has to be demonstrated now,” the Opposition Leader said while noting that the “APNU+AFC is ready to act.” However, he said the attitude displayed by some of the Government Members of Parliament such as the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, would only exacerbate the situation.
Noting that the APNU+AFC has always clearly demonstrated its position on the issue, the Opposition Leader reminded the House that among the first acts of the David Granger Administration was the establishment of a Department of Social Cohesion which functioned at the highest level of Government.

Social Cohesion, he posited, formed part of the programmes and policies instituted at the various ministries. This, he posited, is an “inescapable” fact and cannot be erased. However, he said instead of building on the foundation laid by the APNU+AFC regime, the PPP/C, upon taking office in 2020, embarked on dismantling campaign.

“I would be satisfied were there to be a genuine effort to give effect to our oneness unfortunately while this seems to be an aspiration of President Ali, we see no financial allocation in the budget to give effect to this oneness as a programme. In fact the regime dismantled the Department of Social Cohesion, replacing it with nothing,” Harmon told the House.
It was pointed out that in 2017, the Department of Social Cohesion received a budgetary allocation of $111.7M, in 2018, approximately $395.5M. In 2019, the department’s allocation jumped to $836M.

APNU+AFC, Harmon posited, not only “talked the talk” but “walked the walk” and President Ali, he said, should follow suit.
Further, the Opposition Leader said the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) under the APNU+AFC Administration was allowed to function independently.

“Under our watch, the ERC remained a robust apolitical independent institution, with full powers under the law to pursue anyone who sought to sow the seeds of division among our people. We never for one second considered interfering with the independence of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC),” he told the House, noting that the Commission must be allowed to function.



Support Village Voice News With a Donation of Your Choice



ShareTweetSendShareSend

Related Posts

News

Financial Compensatory Packages Handed Over to Displaced Linden Squatters

by Staff Writer
August 13, 2022

One of the affected person receiving his document from Minister Croal (DPI)- Twenty families who were affected by a demolition exercise...

Read more
News

WHO says COVID-19 deaths fallen by 9 per cent, infections stable

by Staff Writer
August 13, 2022

The number of coronavirus deaths fell by nine per cent in the last week while new cases remained relatively stable,...

Read more
News

Two Guyanese Selected for Prestigious Fulbright Scholarship Awards image.png The United States (U.S) Embassy announced the selection of two Guyanese scholars for the 2022 Fulbright Scholarship Awards. Guyanese educator Keesha St. John and civil engineer Bayeeshmaal Ramsundar will embark upon graduate level programs in their respective fields at universities in the U.S, said the Embassy in a release on Friday. Keesha St. John will pursue a Master of Science in Agribusiness Economics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, while Bayeeshmaal Ramsundar will pursue a Master of Science in Construction Management at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering. The awardees paid a courtesy call at the U.S Embassy in Kington and were congratulated Ambassador Sarah Ann Lynch extended congratulations on their selection from a highly competitive group of candidates. Ambassador Lynch noted that the U.S. Government is pleased to support Guyana’s development by building local capacity through higher education. She further noted that both areas of study are vital to Guyana’s growth as it takes center stage on the world market and supports the Government of Guyana’s efforts in food security, and oversight of public infrastructure projects. The Fulbright Foreign Student Program gives Guyanese citizens the opportunity to complete a master’s or PhD at a higher education institution in the United States. Founded in 1946, the Fulbright Program now operates in 160 countries and has provided over 400,000 people from all backgrounds and in all fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to complex global challenges. The Embassy said over 120 Guyanese have benefitted from Fulbright scholarships since the early 1960s, many of whom are in the public sector, academia, the arts, business, civil society, media, and education. Diplomatic relationship between Guyana and the U.S dates back to the country’s independence.

by Staff Writer
August 13, 2022

The United States (U.S) Embassy announced the selection of two Guyanese scholars for the 2022 Fulbright Scholarship Awards.  Guyanese educator...

Read more
Next Post
Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony

Health Minister says PPP/C out to resuscitate Guyana’s health sector

POPULAR NEWS

No Content Available

EDITOR'S PICK

7 things to prevent looking older, according to science

July 10, 2021
GHK Lall

OP-ED | Norton weathering the storm in face of provocation

February 1, 2022
Ralph Gonsalves was on Saturday sworn in to a fifth consecutive five-year term as prime minister. (Photo: Office of the PM, SVG/Facebook)

GG urges PM to continue inclusive governance

November 9, 2020

Will there be an independent investigation on contracting pumps?

March 13, 2022

© 2021 Village Voice | Developed by Ink Creative Agency

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Letters
  • Global
  • Columns
    • Eye On Guyana
    • For Your Attention
    • Hindsight
    • Lincoln Lewis Speaks
    • In the village
    • Mind Your Business
    • Mark’s Take
    • Future Notes
    • Children & Youth
    • Bad & Bold
    • The Voice of Labour
    • Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds
    • Talking Dollars & Making Sense
    • Jacobs On Agriculture
    • Book Review 
    • My Turn Guyana
    • The Herbal Section
    • ECHO
  • Education & Technology
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us

© 2021 Village Voice | Developed by Ink Creative Agency