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A few weeks ago I headlined a comment that the government was out to destroy black people. This comment created a firestorm. Attorney General Anil Nandlall took to the airwaves to accuse me of race baiting and of pushing the race line. Minister Kwame McCoy issued a full-length statement accusing me of all manner of things. He said that I could have joined the People’s Progressive Party. I was invited to provide proof of my comment. Initially, I declined because I did not want to indulge in cross talk. However, there was enough evidence.
I wish to point to President Irfaan Ali’s determination not to confirm the Chancellor and the Chief Justice despite the Opposition Leader clearing the way for such confirmations. The courts also stated that the delay in confirming the two women was untenable. That was months ago. There can only be one reason for the non-confirmation. To date there has been no confirmation. Suffice it to say that the Chief Justice has many more years before she attains the age of retirement, so any idea of waiting until she retries would be akin to watching paint dry.
There was also the manner in which the flood relief for farmers was distributed. In Region Five the Black farmers claimed that they were either ignored or given an inconsequential sum when compared to the other farmers. It has now come to the fore that foreigners, particularly Brazilians, are being given cash grants. At Bon Fin, the local currency is being converted to reals and given to Brazilians. This must be something to woo voters. Guyanese in the area are discriminated against.
It was the same with the people said to be in the path of the New Demerara Harbour Bridge. The objection was to the different compensation packages. One group of people got top dollars. Fortunately for the few who have held out, the court has ruled that the residents must be paid the market value of the property.
The Attorney General wanted immediate possession. The judge said, “Not so fast.”
More recently there was this young man who operates a business outside his home at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo. He was not the only one operating a wash bay in the area. There were nine others. But he happened to be black. A woman attached to the Ministry of Legal Affairs decided to deem his operation illegal. Every move he made was challenged. The woman even invoked the use of the police. He continues to hold out.
More recently there was Ivor Thom, a renowned sculptor. The Minister of Culture refused to support him when he tried to impose the parking regulations in the compound of the Burrowes School of Art. The antagonist looked different from Thom and gained the support of the Minister. And Ramson got involved when an occupant of the illegally parked car telephoned the Ministry of Culture. Ramson then immediately summoned Thom.
To his credit, Thom maintained his dignity and tendered his resignation. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo intervened and caused Thom to rescind his resignation. This would appear to negate any contention of racial bias. However, the comments by Minister Charles Ramson, shed a different light on the affair. “Your image is not a reflection of what I want for this ministry,” Thom quoted Ramson.
Another case that came readily to mind was that of the young woman who protested the demolition of her home at Mocha. For protesting she was dismissed because according to the Ministry her actions shed a bad light on the Ministry.
The Guyana Human Rights Association invited an international agency to investigate the murders of the Henry brothers and Haresh Singh back in 2020. According to a joint statement from the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) and the law firm Hughes, Fields & Stoby the Argentine Team of Forensic Anthropology (Equipo Argentino de Antropologia Forensica-EAAF) which has worked on high profile cases in many parts of the world had offered to send a team to Guyana including a forensic pathologist, a forensic anthropologist and a forensic radiologist.
Director of the Argentine Team of Forensic Anthropology (EAAF), Dr Luis Fondebrider assured that he had the expertise and experience to help local investigators solve the murders of Berbice teen boys Joel Henry, Isaiah Henry and Haresh Singh. However, he was denied certain information by the local police. The police simply did not cooperate. To this day the killings remain unsolved.
The haste to prosecute black people for perceived crimes is another indication. Who can explain the charge against Tacuma Ogunseye? Who can explain the vile attack against the magistrate hearing the election charges that started as a private criminal action and was later adopted by the Director of Public Prosecutions? The magistrate is a young black woman who is ill. Such attacks have not happened to any other magistrate or judge of a different ethnic persuasion.
Suffice it to say that the discrimination extends to others including the Amerindians in parts of Region Eight and Region Nine. The government has removed the Wi-Fi equipment from those villages deemed to be non-supportive. And this is happening in One Guyana where a government is talking about distance learning. I did speak about the prevalence of pit latrines. There are 77 pit latrines in schools, and all are in the hinterland. These figures came from a survey conducted by the Education Ministry.
