President’s “human capital” statement irks NIP

Mar 07, 2015 News

President Donald Ramotar

NIP Leader, Saphier Husain Subedar

The National Independent Party (NIP) has objected to President Donald Ramotar repeatedly labeling the people of Guyana as “Human Capital”.
NIP’s leader, Saphier Husain-Subedar, said the President made the statement during his recent participation in a programme called ‘At Home with the President’.
The lawyer insisted that the use of the term ‘Human Capital’ is derogatory and reduces human beings to mere factors of production, according to the President’s portrayal, “without soul or spirit and without inalienable rights endowed by their creator”.
“In fact, this term is consistent with ideology denying the existence of a creator (God) and is consistent with the PPP’s treatment of the Guyanese people as poor, ignorant peasants for exploitation, ignoring the beliefs of Christians, Muslims and Hindus that human beings are the highest creation and subject to judgment hereafter and have guaranteed fundamental rights of freedom of conscience,” the lawyer said in a statement.
The party said it is calling on the President to withdraw the “animalistic” description and urged Guyanese and other religious organizations, including Christians, Muslims and Hindus, to lend support to condemn the remarks.
Husain Subedar said that the President uses the term to mean human beings themselves are capital and education, training and employment schemes used to “enhance” the capital which can be sold for a higher value – for example the slavery with the 16% Value Added Tax (VAT) for the state to enjoy and exploit.
NIP said it rejects the human capital theory as is being put forward by President Ramotar and the PPP regime.