“SOCIAL cohesion isn’t a device for one ethnic group; it is a national means of ensuring people are treated with respect, even at the level of the national festivals,” according to President David Granger.

The President was at the time speaking at a press conference hosted at the Ministry of the Presidency on Friday

“We need to understand the condition different people live under in various parts of the country and remove inequalities and try to eliminate poverty, and this goes for whether people are Africans, Amerindians, Indians or any other ethnic group. Social cohesion isn’t a device for one ethnic group, it is a national means of ensuring people are treated with respect even at the level of the national festivals,” President Granger said.

Noting that earlier in the year, government participated in celebrating Chinese Arrival Day, Portuguese Arrival Day, Indian Arrival Day and African Emancipation Day. The President said through respect for each other’s culture, Guyanese will build social cohesion, not by sweeping away another culture or ignoring it.

He also added that, as of the first day in September there will also be a respectful observation of Indigenous heritage.

When being questioned about government’s alleged favouritism of Amerindians in terms of development, the President explained that the indigenous people who live in the hinterland experience more difficulty in accessing public services when compared to others in various parts of the country, especially on the coastland
“That’s why we embarked on a policy of creating regional towns, capital towns in those hinterland regions like Mabaruma, Bartica, Mahdia and Lethem so that the towns can be vehicles for public services,” he said.

He underscored examples of real difficulties persons in the hinterland face which the average coast lander takes for granted.

The President noted that in some communities where there are schools, students have to stay weeks away from their parents in dormitories because of the distance they have to travel.

Noting that some persons live in denial and refuse to accept reality, the President said all citizens should benefit from all the benefits of the state and although there have been divisions in the country historically; government is working towards eliminating inequalities.