–says outgoing US envoy
…believes racism only raises ugly head whenever politics is involved

HE’S not going to pretend that there is not a problem, but he strongly feels that if the politicians are really serious about the country’s future, they would do well to work together.

Asked specifically what he thought about the race relations climate here, outgoing US Ambassador Perry Holloway said, as others have before, that the only time racism raises its ugly head here is whenever politics is involved.

“The interesting thing about Guyana is that there is this race fight going on; and I’m from South Carolina in the United States, a place which still has racism to this day,” he said.
“Quite frankly, outside of politics, I don’t notice the same racial conflict. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist; I know it does… but I’ve readily seen Indo and Afro playing together, working together, doing things together all time.

“But it seems as if politics is the place where it gets more charged,” he told reporters here on Tuesday.
As to how he sees the issue of race being resolved, Ambassador Holloway said: “It takes both sides; you’re never going to solve it if only one side wants to solve it. So, somehow, the two sides have to figure out a way to come together and work this out.

“There are some challenges, because your system, the actual constitution, is a winner-takes-all system. So, by default, if you’re the winner, you take all the control.
“The other side: What do they have? They have little control; they only have the ability to oppose; they’re the opposition.

“I’m not saying here I’m an advocate for or against constitutional reform, but if you want to have greater power sharing, which might lead to more cooperation, then there would need to be some form of reform out there.”
During his presentation of the 2019 Budget to the House on Monday, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan had said that the Coalition Government is big on constitutional reform; that it’s a promise it fully intends to keep.

He said that it is with this in mind that resources have been allocated to mounting a survey and an awareness programme, in partnership with the University of Guyana (UG) and other institutions.

“The survey will seek to assess the current understanding of constitutional reform by the general populace and their expectations,” Minister Jordan said, “while the awareness programme will aim to stimulate a grassroots participatory approach to the entire process.”
Another reason Ambassador Holloway believes that the politicians, particularly the leaders of the two main political parties, ought to work close together is because, as Minister Jordan himself said:

“2020 will be the mother of all elections,” with both parties likely aiming for the control seat.
But though that is as may be, he still feels that the situation warrants that they work together. “Work more together, ‘cause you never know who will be in power in 2020,” he urged. “It could be one side or the other. The last elections was only won by 5,000 votes, give or take, so work more together.”

As to his take on the topic of shared governance, Ambassador Holloway said:
“I don’t know if it’s the answer, but again, it’s a decision that the people in the government have to make to decide what they want to do. But, certainly, share-government decreases opposition-type behaviour.”

Meanwhile, working towards the initiative, the Finance Minister expressed the hope that the bi-Partisan Standing Committee on Constitutional Reform will soon conclude its review of the Constitutional Reform Consultative Commission Bill.

“Our government welcomes the constructive scrutiny that the honourable members of this committee will no doubt exercise in their rigorous examination of the Bill, as we collectively recognise the need to adapt our constitution to reflect our evolution as a democracy,” Minister Jordan has said.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has been spearheading constitutional reform, and will continue to do so, with the full support of the government, while several dormant constitutional bodies have been re-constituted.