Minster of Public Service, Sonia Parag, said the allegations against the government that it is executing policies and programmes steeped in racism and discrimination have no basis. The minister did not provide substantial evidence to prove the allegations are false.
The Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) and sections of civil society have repeatedly accused the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government of practicing racism and discriminating against communities, region and local government councils that support the opposition.
Both the Opposition and civil society have said their proof is evident in cases like budgetary allocation; cash grant distribution; agricultural grants; cash grant payments to former sugar workers, some of whom are re-employed, and none to former bauxite workers employed at partial state-owned Bauxite Company Guyana Inc (BCGI); the refusal of the government, to date, to engage in collective bargaining with unions like the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU). The GPSU has taken the government to court over the matter.
But according to the Minister, the PPP/C government has had a track record of taking the welfare of all Guyanese into account at all times, and any claims of racism or discrimination, therefore, have no basis.
Whilst the minister sought to impress the work of the PPP/C spans across the length of Guyana, she did not address Minister of Public Works, Mr. Juan Edhgill’s recent post on Facebook that residents of Georgetown “should vote PPP/C so we can fix [the road] and do more through City Hall.” The Georgetown municipality is controlled by the Opposition. Neither did she address, as Minister of Public Service, the government’s failure, to date, to meet with the GPSU on collective bargaining.
The government is apparently concerned over a recent statement made by Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Aubrey Norton, that they are prejudiced against Mocha Arcadia residents due to the majority being Afro-Guyanese.
In response the minister said “We don’t discriminate against any community…. Every programme that has been rolled out has been for the benefit of all Guyanese across the 10 administrative regions.” No evidence was provided to substantiate the government’s claim of equal treatment and equity to Guyanese in all the 65 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, particularly in communities where supporters of the Opposition dominate.
The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination notes that “…the term ‘racial discrimination’ shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.” Guyana is a member of the United Nations.
Article 149 of the Constitution of Guyana protects the right of every citizens and expressly forbids “discrimination on the ground of race.”
