A clear and present danger?

Aug 26, 2018 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

A few weeks ago, political analyst David Hinds, a leader of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) argued that ethnic imbalance is a clear and present danger that will consume us all. His focus then was primarily on the Guyana Cricket Board, but his observations were also applied to the wider society.

Hinds argued that “No society survives for long under such conditions. I am arguing that ethnic imbalance is at the heart of the volatility in our society. Ethnically divided societies such as Guyana have proven to be very difficult to manage politically, economically and culturally. Guyana is especially difficult, because two of the groups are large enough to induce fear in each other when they hold the levers of political power.”

The WPA, apparently had failed to convince its coalition parties of the need to ensure ethnic balance within the government and within their respective Parties. This week’s elections within the PNCR turned out a list of Central Executive members which lacked ethnic balance.

The fifteen members of the Central Executive elected are: Christopher Jones, Aubrey Norton, Winston Felix, Richard Van West Charles, Amna Ally, Mortimer Mingo, Clement Corlette, Cheryl Sampson, Thandi Mc Allister, Gary Best, Genevieve Allen, Jennifer Ferreira-Douglas, Edward Collins, Dr. Karen Cummings and Basil Blackman. Get the picture!

A US Department of State Report, which was issued not long after the APNU+AFC coalition came to office, had said that while the supporters of the two main political parties, the PNCR and the PPPC, were drawn primarily from Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese communities, respectively, the political party leadership has been more diverse.

It seems as if the PNCR has decided to prove the US Department of State wrong.

The PNCR is part of the ruling coalition. It had promised greater inclusiveness when it was campaigning, but no sooner was the coalition elected, that insufficient attention was paid to ensuring at the least, an image of ethnic balance.

Within the first weeks of assuming office, APNU set about appointing new State Boards. The initial appointments were so lopsided, they were subject to a barrage of criticisms over the lack of ethnic and gender balance. So great was the criticism that APNU+AFC was forced to take corrective surgery to ensure greater balance.

But that did not last for long, because as the weeks, months and years rolled by, the ethnic imbalance in state appointments became more pronounced. The early caution was dispensed with, and APNU+AFC now seems hardly bothered by the imbalanced image which is being presented to the public.

The following table gives the names of the Permanent Secretaries or those acting as permanent secretaries in government Ministries. It reveals a startling picture:

Name	Ministry/Department
Melissa Tucker	Department of Social Cohesion
Derrick Cummings	Ministry of Public Communication
Adele Clarke	Ministry of Education
Rajdaija Jaggernauth	Ministry of Business
Kenneth Jordan	Ministry of Public Infrastructure
Hector Butts (Finance Secretary)	Ministry of Finance
Alfred King	Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs
Loraine Baird	Ministry of Social Protection
Reginald Brotherson	Department of Public Service
Daniela Mc Calmon	Ministry of Public Security
Collette Adams	Ministry of Public Health
Josylyn McKenzie	Ministry of Natural Resources
Delma Nedd	Ministry of Agriculture
Abena Moore	Ministry of the Presidency
Joylyn Nestor-Burrowes	Ministry of Legal Affairs
Emil McGarrell	Ministry of Communities

The government has become careless in ensuring ethnic balance in state appointments. The just-concluded Congress of the PNCR made little attempt to try to ensure ethnic diversity in its leadership.

Do these things not represent a clear and present danger to Guyana? Will they consume us all?

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