By Staff Reporter
Georgetown, Guyana – August 4, 2025 – In a blistering statement posted to social media, Rickford Burke, President of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), accused the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) of presiding over a decades-long campaign of economic marginalization, cultural suppression, and racial exclusion targeting Guyana’s Afro-descendant population.
Burke’s remarks came in response to what he alleged was a “deliberate lie” published by Stabroek News on August 2, which claimed that only “hundreds” attended the ACDA’s Emancipation Festival at the National Park. Burke countered that the event, which featured a performance by international reggae artist Maxi Priest, drew a crowd of over 10,000 and remains “arguably the largest Emancipation commemoration in the Caribbean.”
“The article was intended to diminish the event, African Guyanese, and our culture,” Burke said. “It was mendacious and malicious.”
In his statement, Burke painted a damning portrait of PPP governance, asserting that the party, which has been in power for 28 of the past 34 years, has “stagnated Black economic empowerment” while promoting “extrajudicial killings, marginalization, and disempowerment.” He criticized both the government and the private sector for failing to adequately support Afro-Guyanese cultural initiatives, including Emancipation celebrations.
According to Burke, the annual festival costs approximately GYD $55 million (USD $273,000) to produce. He revealed that the PPP government contributed a mere GYD $3 million—less than 6% of the budget. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil, which he noted has earned over USD$39 billion from oil production in Guyana, reportedly gave GYD $1 million in its first-ever contribution.
This paucity of Black empowerment and equality explains pellucidly why ACDA’s Emancipation Festival and other African Guyanese cultural events struggle for sponsorship, viability and sustainability,” he wrote.
Burke also challenged the sincerity of PPP officials and private sector elites who attended the Emancipation event, calling their presence “an act of political correctness” rather than a show of genuine support.
He went on to accuse the PPP of pushing an ethnocratic agenda that sidelines African Guyanese while promoting token inclusion. “The PPP government is dictating forceful measures to parachute more East Indians in the Police Force, GDF, and other security forces to promote ‘diversity,’” Burke said. “However, this same PPP government has failed to enact policies to eliminate the gaping disparities African Guyanese face in the financial sector.”
Citing unpublished 2022 census data that reportedly shows African Guyanese make up 30% of the population, Burke argued that systemic underrepresentation in the financial and commercial sectors—dominated by East Indians and foreign interests—has led to structural inequality and what he described as “economic genocide.”
Burke further alleged that the PPP’s recent outreach to African Guyanese is politically motivated, driven by concerns over declining support within its traditional East Indian base. “They think they can pay off Black social media influencers and opposition politicians to lie about their history, and buy Black votes,” he warned. “They are unrepentant.”
In conclusion, Burke called on African Guyanese to reject PPP overtures and unite in pursuit of true economic empowerment, justice, and self-determination. “Guyana is developing, but we are being left behind. There is no plan for our economic empowerment. The PPP has no intention to ensure equal rights and justice prevail.”
As of press time, the PPP had not responded to Burke’s remarks.
