THE Indian Action Committee (IAC) is calling for the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) to be operationalized as it noted the concerns of the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) with regard to ‘ethnic employment’ at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).The organisation has said in a press release,
“The IAC believes that while the party has a right to be concerned over issues, including those relating to GECOM, it urges cognizance of the sensitivities of ethnic-related aspersions and the precipitating challenges it pose to national cohesion… The IAC therefore calls for those members of the ERC who should have been sworn in prior to the May 11 general elections, be so empowered immediately thereby resuscitating this constitutional commission, whose role cannot be overstated, especially with the current issue at hand.”
The IAC further stated that such an issue should not be dismissed. In this regard it proposes an external, independent review of GECOM which should be conducted to ascertain the validity of the party’s claims of preferred and disadvantageous ethnic employment against it.
The IAC also said that if such an endeavor is professionally undertaken, it would aid in the allaying of fear with respect to the party’s concern and could vindicate GECOM’s position. With regards to the latter, it would reinforce that Guyanese, regardless of their ethnicity, could deliver their duties professionally and without favour or ill will.
“The IAC is firm in its belief that ethnicity must not be a factor to bring into any form of disrepute the execution of assigned duties by Guyanese. The IAC believes that in a multi-ethnic society like Guyana, for an organization to derive a sense of confidence based upon the employment of a particular and preferred ethnic group, is counterproductive to the efforts of unification and the country’s national motto. The IAC deems the utterances as most unfortunate,” the organization stated.
The IAC said further that it is aware that parliamentarians within the 10th Parliament worked tirelessly to implement a democratic process for the election of the members to represent the various groups from civil society to the ERC. Unfortunately, those members having been approved by the National Assembly were not provided the opportunity to be sworn in as commissioners.

Meanwhile, African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) Executive Director, Dr. Eric Phillips has said everyone has a right to seek whatever information they need since it’s a democracy. He noted that the same question asked by the IAC can be used to address any or all other institutions in Guyana.
“What is the purpose or the intent of the request, for example, one can say that the Guyana Police Force or the Guyana Defence Force does not have the essential racial mix. The more deeper issue is why is it so, is it because people of Indian descent or Chinese descent don’t see being in the army or the police force lucrative because the jobs are too low paying,” Phillips questioned. “The same goes for mining, you can go to Skeldon, Balwant Singh Hospital and one can go many different places and ask the same question, it’s everybody’s freedom of choice.”
And, questioning the motive of the point being put forward by the IAC, Phillips cited another example using a sector analysis where the economy and business community can also be reviewed. “Who owns 95% of the economy, and if one race owns 95% of the economy, what does that mean? When you start looking at things without looking at the broader picture then issues become more problematic.”