Evidence of discrimination against Africans by the PPP Government

Aug 01, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

The talk coming out of the mouth of the Indian dominated PPP and its tribalist supporters is that there is ethnic bias against East Indians by the APNU-AFC Government. The PPP has latched on to certain dismissals in the public sector.
These same tribalists were on another planet when African Guyanese were supplanted in the same public sector and in scholarship awards.
Mark Benschop was charged for treason. Oliver Hickson was charged for sedition and refused bail. A young mother Carol-Ann Munroe and her army husband Bruce were charged for treason along with a family friend, Leonard Wharton. All five named here were African Guyanese.
Where were the voices of the PPP and the tribalist fanatics that are shouting accusations of Indians being targeted? To make matters worse, all the special Prosecutors hired by the State to prosecute these five victims were Indians.
When an Indian, Chabilall Ramsarup was put in charge of Trade and Customs Administration of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) over Ingrid Griffith, a senior GRA official who once acted in that position, the tribalists, including the swamis, were on vacation in India.
Ramsarup at the time had no previous experience with Customs and Excise details. When the Jagdeo cabal refused to confirm Genevieve Whyte-Nedd as Chief Education Officer thereby diminishing her pension entitlement, the entire PPP leadership was on vacation in India.
When the Board of South Ruimvedlt Secondary school recommended Ms. Dawn English to be Headmistress, the promotion was denied by the Teaching Service Commission, headed at the time by Mrs. Leila Ramson, the wife of Charles Ramson, former Attorney-General.
Where were the PPP supporters when Ms. English was denied her right to be promoted? At the same time, in the Ministry of Education, Ms. Bibil Ally, mother of Minister Irfan Ally, was promoted to Deputy Education Officer for Development and Mrs. Manickchand (Priya’s mother) was promoted to Placement Officer for Secondary Schools.
That job at the time was held by an African Guyanese Mary Luke. Smith, Whyte-Need and Luke were not promoted but Ally and Manickchand were. Would the swamis care to comment?
When Assistant Commissioner of Police, Paul Slowe refused an edict by Home Affairs Minister, Gajraj to return a firearm to a Berbician who was under police investigation, Slowe was cast aside in an obscure office at Eve Leary.
Where were the Indian voices of condemnation? When CANU officer, Maurice Smith searched the suitcases of the DPP and her husband at the airport, Smith was subsequently charged for drug trafficking.
During the court trial it was revealed through his lawyer, Mr. Nigel Hughes that the DPP had written to Smith’s superiors in the Police Force requesting his dismissal.
Smith’s case was that he was charged out of spite by the DPP. He was acquitted. How come the PPP didn’t see ethnic bias in the motivation to charge Smith?
When researcher Lyris Primo was investigating ethnic preference in the awarding of scholarships in the public service that favoured Indians, she was met with a stonewall by the Public Service Ministry which refused to release data to her. She completed her study without the statistics from the Ministry.
Where was the voice of the Indians who are now crying about discrimination? Did these voices know what happened to the father of the West Indies superstar cricketer, Carl Hooper at Guyoil under the PPP? Did they cry racial discrimination then? Do the Indian criers in July 2016 know that between 2007 and 2010, 47 employees were dismissed from GWI and only one was Indian – the internal auditor? Did these people read the 2010 Budget? It revealed that in that year the number of special contract workers for all the Ministries and ten Regions were 3312. Of that number 82 percent were Indians.
Here are some names of PPP’s witch-hunt in the state media.
The following African Guyanese were ousted; Margaret Lawrence, Ave Brewster, Enrico Woolford, Basil Bradshaw, Kim Backer, Stan Gouveia, Cynthia Nelson, Roger Moore, Dean Adonis, Mark Young and of course Adam Harris.
Here are the names of Permanent Secretaries who became victims of ethnic cleansing under the PPP; Reginald Brotherson (Amerindian Affairs), Noel Adonis (Education), Claudette Moore (Labour), Philip Hamilton (Ministry of Information), Nigel Gravesande (Trade); Steve Bovell (GEC now GPL); ; Winston Jordan (Budget Director), Allan Johnson (Georgetown Hospital CEO)
What you have read here is just the tip of the iceberg of ethnic cleansing under the PPP starting with Cheddi Jagan but it was under Jagdeo and Ramotar that ethnic demonization of African Guyanese became official policy. Yes! I stand by the word, “official.”

1 thoughts on “Evidence of discrimination against Africans by the PPP Government”

weir August 1, 2016 at 12:24 pm

Freddie, compare the list of PPP supporters that were victimized by APNU government then we can make the comparative balance.