THE African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) has accused General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee of “dividing this nation along racial lines.”

The accusation comes in the wake of Rohee’s recent call on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for information on the ethnic make-up of those who worked for the body in the May General and Regional elections.
Already, GECOM Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally and the Guyana Government have come out with statements condemning Rohee and his party on the move.
Said ACDA Executive Director, Dr. Eric Phillips on Tuesday:

“To suggest that even if the majority of employees in GECOM Headquarters were not Indian; that those employees had any power to change anything, given all the systems in place; given all the international groups that came here to observe; given how the votes are counted….to even suggest that, shows that he is continuing along [the] PPP’s path of racism and division of the nation.”
Phillips made it clear that he does not mind the request, primarily because it has no validity or impact on the results of the 2015 elections. What he’d like him to do, however, is to make some disclosures himself. “I would like for Mr. Rohee to tell us what is the racial composition of the many State agencies…”
Instead of attempting to divide the country on the basis of race, Phillips said it would pay Rohee better to use the time “to increase his intellectual capacity, his intellectual IQ, and his emotional IQ.” Maybe then, he said, he would be in a better position to effectively contribute to the development of Guyana.
“The people in the streets are much smarter than Rohee,” Phillips said, “Maybe 99.9% of them are smarter than Rohee; he is not conning them; they know the

truth…”

DIVISIVE NARRATIVE
As to what he makes of the situation, Phillips said all he sees Rohee doing is continuing the divisive narrative created by former President Bharrat Jagdeo in the lead-up to the May 11, 2015 General and Regional Elections.
He recalled that while at Babu Jaan, on the Corentyne, Jagdeo had told supporters:
“They shout about racism of the PPP, but they practise racism; they whisper campaigns. In the last elections, they went to some of the Afro-Guyanese villages and beat some drums at 6 O’clock in the morning, and say, ‘Let us throw out these coolie people. Get up, go out and vote; throw out the coolie people.’
“That’s the kind of language they use. Anybody from our party who uses that sort of language, we will kick them out.” The latest on this matter is that Jagdeo is currently before the courts. According to Phillips, in other countries, persons are jailed for making such statements.
But, as if making such loose remarks at Babu Jaan were not enough, Jagdeo, in his capacity as Opposition Leader, is now using projects such as the Amaila Falls Hydro-power Project and the Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) to stir up trouble and division among the people. “He knows that even if Amaila Falls is technically a good project, it is a very corrupted project, where he and his friends would benefit.”
What it all boils down to, Phillips said, is that Rohee and Jagdeo’s determination to push this racist narrative is a clear indication that they have no intention of participating in the development agenda of the David Granger administration, which will ultimately move the country forward.
He also charges that while in power, the PPP/C had undermined Afro-Guyanese by empowering their own, whether qualified or not. “Now that the PPP/C is out of power,” he said, “the party is using another strategy by crying victimisation.”

DESIST
Late last week, Surujbally had appealed to all political parties in Guyana to desist from promoting ethnic division, in his response to Rohee. Any attempt to create an ethnic divide, he warned, will not be tolerated under his watch, as he called on all political parties to provide facts to substantiate their claims.
The Opposition party has requested, among other things, that GECOM disclose the ethnicity of approximately 12,000 persons who worked during this year’s general elections.
That request, which was made by Rohee, is seen as an attempt “to embarrass this entity called GECOM,” Dr. Surujbally said.
Noting that Rohee strongly believes there was an ethnic disparity amongst GECOM’s employees during May’s general elections, Surujbally said this was why he was seeking to enquire about the perceived ethnic imbalance.
But Rohee needn’t worry, he said. “GECOM has a procedure; a process. We do not employ Afro-Guyanese; we do not employ Indo-Guyanese. We employ Guyanese,” he said, adding that ethnicity was never an issue for the Commission.
“Let us stop this ethnicity thing,” Dr. Surujbally stressed, adding that it is high time that the stereotyping of persons, based on their ethnicity stops. “Because, if you are of a particular group, there is a feeling that you are ‘pro’ or ‘anti’ a certain party.
“Obviously, anybody who has been proven to work inimically to the interest of GECOM or a political party, I cannot see how we will continue to employ them.”

GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE
One day after Surujbally did, Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally, on behalf of the government, also rejected what she described as the “irresponsible and divisive query” made by Rohee.
In a press release, the minister said, “It is sad that the PPP has chosen to once again divide this nation on the basis of ethnicity.
“The sooner politicians realise that we are all Guyanese and resist attempts to divide Guyana along ethnic lines, the sooner Guyana will be taken to a higher level in fostering social cohesion.
“It is indeed unfortunate that the PPP’s General Secretary resorted to the politics of division in his examination of the employment practices at GECOM.
“The labour laws of Guyana are clear, there must be no discrimination in hiring based on race, gender or religious beliefs. We are confident that GECOM has followed and continue to follow the law of the land.”