Governance By Ethnic Triumphalism Inappropriate In Plural Society
Since attaining political independence, Guyana with a handful of inhabitants (less than one million as of the last consensus), has been led by various governments, each with a distinct brand and ideological stance.
British Guiana became a Crown colony in 1928, and in 1953 it was granted home rule. In 1950, Cheddi Jagan, who was Indian-Guyanese, and Forbes Burnham, who was Afro-Guyanese, created the colony’s first political party, the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), which was dedicated to gaining the colony’s independence. In the 1953 elections, Cheddi Jagan was elected Chief Minister. The British, however, alarmed by Jagan’s Marxist views, suspended the constitution and government within months, and installed an interim government. In 1955, the PPP experienced a split, with Burnham breaking off to create the People’s National Congress (PNC). The leftist Jagan of the PPP and the more moderate Burnham of the PNC were to dominate Guyana politics for decades to come.
In 1961, Britain granted the colony autonomy, and Jagan became Prime Minister (1961–1964). Strikes and rioting weakened Jagan’s rule, much of it believed to be the result of covert CIA operations. In 1964, Burnham succeeded Jagan as prime minister, a position he retained after the country gained full independence on May 26, 1966. With independence, the country returned to its traditional name, Guyana.
In a nation of six races, unity has proven to be quite a challenging task as each group, naturally, with distinct cultures, clamored for special attention. Amidst a keen tussle for leadership, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham won out over Cheddie Jagan after defecting from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to form the People’s National Congress (PNC) and led Guyana to Independence.
Thereafter, Hugh Desmond Hoyte took over the reins and his style of leadership underlined the high level of respect for the ethnic nuances while carefully establishing certain policies that strengthened the relationship among the ethnic groups. Following the deaths of these esteemed statesmen, Janet Jagan became the first female head of state, but her tenure was very brief due to her advanced age and an unstable political environment. She then passed on the baton to a young and aspiring politician, Bharrat Jagdeo who served several terms until a change in the constitution limited the tenure of the Head of State to a mere two consecutive terms.
Thereafter, Donald Ramotar ascended to the helm from 2011 to 2015 when David Granger took over the presidential seat May 2015 to August 2020, after defeating the PPP.
Of the many presidents that graced the Vlissengen Road edifice, the enigmatic rule of Jagdeo, who sat in the Presidential seat from August 1999 to December 2011, received extensive analyses and a plethora of well-documented shortcomings. Even a surreptitious glance will uncover the many atrocities perpetuated against Blacks under Jagdeo’s presidency. One cannot forget the droves of Afro Guyanese who were slaughtered, allegedly by the mysterious ‘Phantom squad.’ One cannot ignore the hard evidence that there existed a robust relationship between Jagdeo’s government and that killer squad, specifically, the ruling elites and criminal elements.
In 2002, renowned convict, Roger Khan, was intercepted by security forces, in possession of telephone triangulation equipment. This was incontrovertible evidence against the said ruling regime since such complex telecommunication devices could have only been accessed with the government’s approval. That era has passed but the scars remain and this nation, moreover, Afro Guyanese, are still tormented by that period of infamy and are demanding answers for those genocidal acts.
As the first Vice President, Jagdeo obviously wields significant power and uses every arsenal at his disposal to emasculate and malign his opponents. In a scholarly document, challenged and upheld in the Courts dubbed, “Ethnic Power and Ideological Racism (2010),” Freddie Kissoon noted that the bulk of government legal businesses is assigned to legal firms operated by Indo-Guyanese. Unfortunately, the situation 12 years later has not improved with hardly any indication of changes in the near future. The palpable reality remains that there is a discernable absence of Afro-Guyanese contractors/suppliers at all levels.
It seems painfully obvious that those feeling the brunt of such demeaning actions are, not only Afro but Indo-Guyanese who refuse to support such a nefarious agenda.
The Vice President’s abhorrence of Afro-Guyanese has resulted in the most despicable and purportedly, libelous attack on Vincent Alexander and IPADA-G, a group that advocate at the national level for policies and programmes that advance the interests and condition of Guyanese of African Descent. Mr. Alexander has since sought redress through the courts. Jagdeo has managed to garner support from his Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture, Charles Ramson, who maliciously dispatched a letter to IPAD-G on August 31, 2022, ironically on International Day of People of African Descents, demanding financial statements for a certain period. Obviously, the Sports Minister failed to do his homework since the document he requested had long been submitted to the relevant authorities.
In what has been labeled as ‘economic apartheid’ under Jagdeo’s leadership, scores of Afro-Guyanese, though qualified, were denied senior leadership positions in the public service. Notably, in 2010, not a single head of the country’s overseas missions was of Afro Guyanese extract. Former Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Roger Luncheon is on record admitting to this travesty.
Meantime, Jagdeo’s relentless assault on Afro-Guyanese intensified in 2005 with the forfeiture of subvention to Critchlow Labor College, an institution that offers tuition to urban citizens. Further, deliberate efforts were made to erode the economic independence of Afro Guyanese by promoting and encouraging hostile business and work and environments.
Many opine that he is the de facto president as Jagdeo continues to wield as much power as he did when he was the executive president. The hallmark of his strategy can only be described as the politics of ventriloquism where the puppet master, pitches his voice as though another speaks while his many puppets unashamedly exhort contrasting views.
Further, in what is a clever deceptive scheme, President Irfaan Ali, conveys the image of equity and equality while his many Ministers parrot his sentiments. Prime Minister, Mark Phillips, Minister of Public Works Juan Edgehill, and Pauline Campbell-Sukhai, Minister of Amerindian Affairs sell the dream of inclusivity, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh and Minister of Natural Resource, Vickram Bharrat, entice the oligarchs. Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall browbeats his political opponents, threatening legal prosecution while Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud and Minister of Agriculture, Mustapha Zulfikar appeal to the ethnic base.
Over the past few years, this well-organized team and its faithful followers have recommenced a campaign to marginalize Afro Guyanese as well as detractors of the PPP. The unfair allocation of resources across communities clearly demonstrates the ill intent of the government. Shockingly, over the past two years, the per capita public infrastructure investment at Cane Grove has exceeded that of Belladrum. We are well aware of the ethnic composition of both communities.
Public Procurement is also an area of concern and it is obvious that the vast majority of contractors and suppliers of goods and services appear to be party loyalists or Indo-Guyanese.
In every productive sector in Guyanese society, people of African descent are under-represented. Afro-Guyanese have long become an endangered specie at the senior level of the Public Service. This group is also experiencing victimization in the acquisition of government land leases beyond a homestead in lucrative zones. Further, it is difficult, nay impossible, for members of this group to be deemed qualified as service providers for major public investment projects.
This situation is untenable in a plural society since it can be argued that there exists a deliberate plan to marginalize a specific ethnic group. Consequently, the government needs to adopt more affirmative action in the availability of adequate resources, inclusive of hard cash. Officials must also devote quality time to the eradication of ethnic discrimination. Such affirmative action should aim, not only to quell but also to totally dismantle the scourge of discrimination. A classical example can be drawn from the USA where the reservation of federal procurement dollars for minority and female-owned businesses has been established.
Affirmative action promotes diversity, and equality that inevitably promotes to improved race/ethnic relations. It follows, therefore, that any right-thinking Government would unhesitatingly abort unwelcome discriminatory practices since such policies are brutal, unfair, and certainly unpatriotic.
Amidst the raging debate is the undeniable fact that the current status quo is unworthy of retaining and emulating. It promotes ethnic triumphalism and pushes the nation farther away from attaining the ‘One Guyana’ goal so proudly advocated by President Irfaan Ali.