OLD Kai has been carefully sifting through the annual talk shops which spring up during the month of August, where the focus is on gauging the current state of the African community in Guyana.
There are, of course, ‘the usual suspects’ and some new faces; and this year is no different. It is a time when the PPP/C Government comes in for a beating, as it is made the scapegoat for the challenges experienced by sections of the Afro-Guyanese community, particularly those on the lower end of the economic scale.

Now, I do not have a problem with citizens levelling blame at any Government if they feel they have a justified grievance, but trying to make this an ethnic issue and exploiting it for all it is worth is just shameless. What this simply does, is to continue the cycle of mental oppression leaders have been trying to exert and maintain over the African community, even though they regale us with the need for our people to break out of the shackles from the very things they perpetuate.
Before I continue, it is important to point out that there are some who are genuinely concerned about the state of their fellow Africans, but there are many who simply pretend to care, for obvious reasons.
A case in point is the issue of education and access to it. Just recently, the PNC/R=APNU issued a press statement announcing that their struggling youth movement had elected a new Chairman.
In his speech, the outgoing Chairman, Christopher Jones, aka ‘Tint-man’, simply blamed all the problems of the Party’s youth supporters on the PPP/C Government, and, not surprisingly, the incoming Chairman, Ryan Belgrave, went even further by stating that the PPP/C was afraid of an educated nation.
When ignorant messages such as these are drilled into the psyche of their supporters, who are predominately Afro-Guyanese, complemented by David Granger’s talk of ‘…an education genocide’, we can clearly see where all of this is leading to.
But let us pause and think here: Who was it again that slashed funding for the One Laptop per Family (OLPF) programme, which is a crucial education tool in this era not only for youths but for all ages?
This programme targets particularly lower-income families, including lower-income Black families, as a tool to assist in empowering them, and ensuring their children have similar opportunities to those who are economically better off. The idea is to familiarise the target recipients with evolving Information Technology (IT) trends and the many benefits and opportunities they present. It is a tool for empowerment, which the Opposition has scoffed at.
There has not been any accusation by the Opposition and these pro-African groups that the project was discriminating against Africans, or was only being distributed in certain communities. Rather, their myopic accusation was that the Government was trying to buy votes, through the project, from areas where it did not receive traditional support.
Not surprising, funding for the OLPF was slashed by the PNC/R=APNU, in conjunction with the AFC, to destroy the initiative altogether. So, who really is committing education genocide, and is afraid of an educated population?
It is interesting to note that not one of the individuals now fronting during the Emancipation activities, and pretending to be genuinely concerned about the state of Africans, ever voiced condemnation of this action by the Opposition during their budget cuts.
Their case is further undermined, as a Demerara Waves article recently quoted Buxton educator, Deon Abrams, as encouraging, during one such forum, Afro-Guyanese children to understand that they must take advantage of education opportunities to succeed and be competitive.
But here is a glaring example of the Opposition denying Afro-Guyanese children and adults one such educational opportunity, but those who are bawling and beating their chests during the month of August never sought to condemn them. Why?
When the Opposition was forcing a 22% increase in electricity rates on Guyanese by slashing Government subvention, it was the poor who would have felt it the most, and if we are to agree with the contention of these very people that Africans are worse off economically, it makes you think about the motive behind such an action by the PNC/R and the AFC. Again, the pro-African groups had remained silent, even though the people they want us to believe they genuinely represent stood to be affected the most.
It was no other than President Donald Ramotar, our first multi-ethnic Head of State, who demanded that GPL halt any impending increases to customers, as he was concerned about the effects it would have on our people, while he sought other avenues to ensure the electricity corporation gets the necessary revenues to continue its extensive modernisation and recapitalisation project.
When the Opposition slashed funding for the Solar panel distribution project, it was not only Amerindians residing in outlying communities who would have been affected. Africans and East Indians, among other groups, also reside in the hinterland; and again we come to the fact that more often than not, those living in outlying areas are the most vulnerable in society, and need the most help. The Opposition tried to justify this attack on the poor, and these Afro-conscious groups remained silent.
Let’s now talk about jobs and discrimination. When a group of workers, who were mainly Afro-Guyanese, approached Opposition Leader David Granger after they found themselves on the breadline after the PNC/R=APNU and the AFC slashed funding for the Ethnic Relations Commission, he turned his back on them.
When they went to the AFC, they were also given the cold shoulder; and it was then they realised that they were part of the Opposition’s ‘collateral damage’ plan. And again, the African groups remained silent.

(To be continued in tomorrow’s edition)