Dear Editor,
I REFER to Demerarawaves May 26, 2018, “GECOM dominated by Afro-Guyanese; “PPP’S Robeson Benn calls for racial balancing in all institutions”.

Astonishing, would be my first reaction; but not really, for nothing that has emanated from this opposition party since its defeat in 2015, has been surprising, except its continuous brand of obnoxious deviousness, deception, misinformation, and the torrent of shameful lies that have now become a never-ending flow. For all the times when the PPP/C would have won at the polls, it did so with the same ethnic category of staff. But there were no complaints, because of victory. I am certain that the peddlers of this narrative, Robeson Benn and Donald Ramotar, are fully aware of this fact.

But the change of attitude towards GECOM began, with the holding of the 2011 national elections, when the then Chief Elections Officer was red-handedly exposed. Of course, it is now a matter of history that Gocool Boodhoo’s contract was not renewed, but not after a tie-breaking vote by the then chairman.

It would seem that the defeat of the PPP/C, coupled with the removal of the CEO, shook the former to its core, thus opening a staccato of constant attacks against GECOM, its management,and staff – all misleading, with the latest coming from Benn. Therefore, one is not surprised with this latest piece of falsity and misleading statement intended to accuse the coalition government of racism with regards staffing at this key institution. He would be aware that the coalition government inherited GECOM, with its staff composition, in addition to the general public service.

Benn would know that the Public Service has always had a preponderance of African Guyanese; and this has been since before Independence. It is a tradition that has continued through the decades to the present. I do not see any decided pattern of racism in this, as Donald Ramotar so misleadingly has opined.

There have been always Indo-Guyanese entrants, but not in the same numbers as the former, since this ethnic category has a known preference for business and commerce. And there was no policy that kept them out of the ranks of the armed forces, either. The proof of this came with the change of government in 1992, when it was said that although there were some applicants to the Guyana Defence Force, most dropped out because of complaints surrounding food consumption because of religio-cultural reasons, and the rigorous training that is always necessary for would-be soldiers.

Ramotar especially, must be reminded that becoming a soldier is a call to national service, very special and patriotic, as it includes the ever-constant possibility of laying one’s life down in defence of one’s country. It is not child’s play. Soldiering is very serious business, even for the officers who have to lead their troops, as they too experience the same tough training with all the mental and physical harshness, coupled with the extreme deprivations. Hence, it is the fittest who will become soldiers.

It would also seem strange, that the PPP/C, through its mouthpieces, with Robeson Benn now coming on board, has suddenly realised that there is need for racial balancing in the public institutions. This, I find amusing, but again another attempt at racial aspersions against the government, now in office for just three years.

It is a known fact, that as a government, it was the PPP/C policies that shaped and influenced what took place in almost every government department. As examples: Almost all of the 23 departments in the Public Hospital Georgetown Corporation were headed by Indo-Guyanese medical practitioners, although there were qualified and competent Afro-Guyanese doctors; virtually all of the post-graduate medical scholarships were awarded to Indo-Guyanese, beginning from the late 90s to about just before the change of government in 2015.

This caused an exodus of many capable, competent Afro-Guyanese doctors to the CARICOM island states, then on to North America, and Europe where many have since acquired post graduate opportunities that had been denied them in their homeland. Had one of those doctors, a very talented and promising would-be gynae-obstretrician not be forced to leave, because of denied post graduate opportunities he would not have been a wheel-chair bound cripple in Jamaica, as his physical state is, due to gunshot wounds.

I can go further, by saying that a certain senior medical head of department made it his duty to mark down black medical students on clinical rotation at the state facility, with always a concocted explanation when questioned. This is only a microcosm of how the PPP/C administration controlled the general dynamics of the Public Service and their institutions. Of supersessions, there were many; and there was the shameful case of an acting, competent and adequately qualified, chief education officer being denied her confirmation.

Let it be reminded, that the PPP/C never trusted independent minded personnel. It explained why there were surrogates and well-known PPP/C supporters that were heads of department, even though some were not qualified and experienced to hold such offices. Finally, how can Ramotar be so barefaced to accuse this government of removing Indians “en masse”? Those who were terminated, were found to have been engaged in activities that were definitely of a public mischief kind, and other activities inimical to the interests of the state. They were receiving hard-earned tax payers’ money under false pretenses–and Ramotar cannot claim ignorance of such a fact.

The contradictory aspect of Benn’s view is that this is the very public service and its institutions that served his former government very well, with no complaints, even from himself. It has transitioned in the same capacity and functions in this new dispensation, except with elements being sent home in the public interest.

Regards
Troy Garraway