The monster in Homo sapiens

Jul 13, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Here is an extract from a letter Manzoor Nadir, former PPP Minister, wrote to this newspaper in defence of his daughter, Marcia Nadir. His reaction was based on KN’s reporting on the forensic audit of NICIL during the reign of the PPP Government and when his daughter was Deputy CEO of NICIL.
The issue at hand is the auditor’s discovery of the creation of false minutes during the tenure of Ms. Nadir-Sharma.
Here is what Mr. Nadir had to say about his daughter; “She has served this country diligently and is an epitome of grace, professionalism and decency. It is concerningly coincidental that this article appears a day after she had an interview for the top spot at NICIL. Is the article meant to sway decision makers away from her? Your articles will now curtail on her constitutional right to work as employment inside and outside of government.”
Readers should note Mr. Nadir’s contention that KN reporting will affect the CONSTITUTIONAL (my emphasis) right of his daughter to work. Manzoor Nadir’s anger tells the tragic tale of one of the inherent flaws of civilization – the innate, cruel selfishness of Homo sapiens, a feature that many animal species do not have, especially cats and dogs.
Manzoor Nadir was directly involved in the denial of employment to dozens of Guyanese by virtue of the fact that the law empowers the Minister of Labour to provide industrial comfort to those who have been arbitrarily dismissed. That is the law and not something that resides as a wish or desire by the Minister. Mr. Nadir did absolutely nothing about the instantaneous dismissal of 57 workers in 2009 when bauxite workers went on strike for increased wages.
So enraged were the unions and the opposition against Nadir that a no confidence motion against Minister Nadir was introduced in Parliament.
Here is an extract from Kaieteur News of June 4, 2010 on the motion in the National Assembly; “The historic motion of “No Confidence” against Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir, which was tabled by Shadow Minister Basil Williams, alleged that Nadir erred in not utilizing the powers which the law reposes in him to act on behalf of the embattled workers.
“In his opening presentation, Williams accused the Minister of blatantly breaching the Constitution of Guyana, as well as noting that RUSAL breached the Collective Labour Agreement it had with the workers and the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers’ Union.
“According to Williams, despite pleas by several entities, the Minister continuously refused to act on behalf of the workers. The Shadow Labour Minister told the House that every Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) is enforceable by law, and further, the Minister did not require the consent of either affected party to set up an arbitration panel to rule on the matter.”
This is the same Nadir who is fighting for the right of his daughter not only to employment but to a prestigious occupation that carries a substantial salary. Sadly, those 57 workers lost their right to employment.
The question one should ask Nadir is how does he feel about the dozens of little children of those dismissed workers who had to live and still do, with a lesser standard of living? How can a human being feel the pain of personal hurt but lack the capacity to understand that other humans have feelings too?
I was fortunate to be in the Kaieteur News offices one night when then Minister of Works, Robeson Benn, walked in with an angry intention. He went straight to Adam Harris’s desk to complain about KN’s reporting of his son’s arrest. His complaint was inaccurate reporting.
Compare inaccurate reporting to the removal of one’s livelihood. There can be no comparison. Benn as Minister of Works, went about destroying the shacks of many little roadside vendors to the extent that the satirical column, “Dem Boys Seh” nicknamed him, “Bruk Up Benn.”
Priya Manickchand called KN to complain about my assertion that under her watch as Minister of Education, nepotism in school placements had increased. But the same lady saw nothing wrong in her refusal to confirm the then acting Chief Education Officer, Genevieve Whyte-Nedd. Whyte-Nedd retired without full benefits.
What people like Nadir did when he wrote his letter; what Benn did when he stormed into the offices of Kaieteur News; what Manickchand did when she called Kaieteur News, was to postulate the existence of superior genes. These three persons were saying they are in a special group of superior humans that should never be offended. The flipside to this theory is that they see others as inferior and thus deserve humiliating treatment.

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