–chides Olive Sampson’s attempt to assert control over Emancipation celebrations

FOLLOWING brazen attempts by the Chief Executive Officer of the International Decade of People of African Descent Guyana (IDPADA-G), Olive Sampson to assert exclusivity over Emancipation celebrations, the government has reaffirmed its support for organisations genuinely engaged in representing Guyanese of African descent.

Minister for Information and Public Affairs, Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, in statement on Thursday made this known while rubbishing Sampson’s public comments and stating that IDPADA-G has no business attempting to control this year’s Emancipation celebrations.

In a letter released to the newspapers, Sampson said IDPADA-G stands with the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA), in an attempt to dictate when, where, and how celebrations for the 186th Emancipation in Guyana are held.

The following is the full statement that was issued by Minister McCoy:

“Olive Cannings Sampson, the Chief Executive Officer of the now disgraced and virtually defunct International Decade of People of African Descent Guyana -IDPADA-G, has written to newspaper editors to brazenly assert exclusivity for its ‘sister’ political organisation, the African Cultural Development Association-ACDA, regarding Emancipation celebrations and to continue attempting to fraudulently arrogate to herself and IDPADA-G, the right to pronounce and make national representation for and on behalf of Guyanese of African Descent.

It is now therefore more than apparent that the management of this organisation has cocooned itself into a shameless rhetorical state of denial about its fall from grace and consequentially, its revoked locus standi to continue meaningful representation of Guyanese of African descent.

Guyanese at home and abroad bore witness to the shocking revelations a few years ago, of IDPADA-G’s self-inflicted unravelling; of its incestuous mismanagement and misappropriation of public funds amounting to more than a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money at the expense of dozens of community-based organisations which were genuinely positioned to facilitate the empowerment of their various communities through what should have been equitable sharing of those public funds.

IDPADA-G hopes that Guyanese will forget the embarrassing spectacle of learning how a small cabal of greedy and entitled individuals at the helm of the organisation siphoned the member’s money into a private company structure with vulgar emoluments and other benefits swirling only in that circle of Afro-demigods, and allowing only for crumbs and trickles to fall slavishly to the feet of member groups; often, none at all.

Those criminal revelations all of Guyana would recall, resulted in a rebellious exodus of the vast majority of member groups from the wretched, corrupt halls of Mama IDPADA-G; demanding instead, that their government engage them directly and help revive their unshakable commitment to genuine representation of their respective constituent communities across the country. Their message was loud and unambiguous; for the government to periodically release the committed funds for the extended International Decade directly among them, to finally allow for transparent and credible adumbration of the cause for upliftment and empowerment beyond what is embodied in the government’s national transformation agenda.

How ironic and utterly disrespectful it is therefore, that having unshackled themselves from the corrupt tyranny of Cannings-Sampson, Alexander et al, the new Association of People of African Descent-APAD is being subjected to continuous public lynching by IDPADA-G; this time around, for where, when, and how it chooses to carry out the wishes of its members for the celebration of Emancipation 2024.

As if it were not previously clear enough, allow me to reiterate the government’s position concerning the deployment of public funds and support for the vision of the United Nations General Assembly regarding the deserving extension of the ‘Decade of People of African Descent’; recognition and unwavering support will flow unabated to those organisations genuinely engaged in representing Guyanese of African Descent, and whose ethos is NOT self-serving, incestuous, and corrupt.
Consequently, the Government’s support for observances and celebrations of the 186th emancipation in Guyana is assured for the dozens of community-based organisations that have boldly and judiciously unshackled themselves from the disgraced IDPADA-G.”