THE National Assembly has approved the names of those nominated from ten broad categories to be considered by the President for positions in the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC). 

Those names were drawn from a pool of Christian, Islamic and Hindu groups; representatives from the Labour Movement, private sector and youth groups; women’s groups, and cultural and ethnic groups from

Amerindian/Indigenous peoples, and African and Indian bodies respectively.

Chairman of the Committee on Appointments, Dr. George Norton, in presenting the motion, asserted that in keeping with Resolution 68 of 2004, the Committee consulted the approved list of entities for nomination to the ERC; and those entities met, and later submitted their nominations between April 30, 2014 and June 6, 2014.

Coming on the heels of that consultation, the following names are to be considered for appointment by the President: Dr. John O. Smith (Christian Religion); Rajkumarie Singh (Hindu Religion); Shaykh Moeen-ul Hack (Islamic Religion); Gomattie Kalicharran (Youth Organisations); Ruth Howard (Women’s Organisations); and Peter Persaud, Barrington Braithwaite and Neaz Subhan of the Amerindian, African and Indian ethnic groups respectively.

Former Chairman of the ERC, Bishop Juan Edghill, speaking on behalf of the motion, lauded the move by the Committee on Appointments, since it was recorded that during the Ninth Parliament, “there was an inability to agree to the list of entities to be consulted.”

Consensus, according to Bishop Edghill, was carried on the premise that there existed in the committee “some amount of institutional memory” in resolving contentions. The Bishop, however, cautioned that persons nominated for appointment should be of genuine and respectable character.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Raphael Trotman, echoed the words of Bishop Edghill when he noted that persons of questionable character ought not be considered for any appointment on the Ethic Relations Commission (ERC).

The ERC was derived from recommendations of the Herdmanston Accord, signed on January 17, 1998. Brokered by a CARICOM mission, the Accord sought to provide a peaceful solution to the political impasse that gripped the country after the contentious December 1997 Regional and General Elections.

As provided for under Article 212 of the Guyana Constitution, the ERC advocates for equality of opportunity among persons of different ethnic groups; promotes the elimination of all forms of ethnic-based discrimination; and discourages persons, institutions, political parties and associations from indulging in discriminatory practices.

(By Derwayne Wills)