ERC’s Chairman sets the record straight

Feb 24, 2021 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

Kindly grant me the space to respond to the personal attack, innuendos and false allegations, made by Commissioner of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), Hajji Dr. Roshan Khan, published Sunday February 14, 2021 in your widely read newspaper. Editor, I am not wont to respond to every missive or contention, but the grave and libellous allegations of impropriety levelled against me as Chairman are meant to impugn my character and plunge the present Commission into disrepute. Commissioner Roshan Khan is a beneficiary of some decisions taken and voted on at meetings of the Commission. At its Statutory Meeting on November 26, 2020, Commissioners voted by majority decision on a number of measures, provided that funds were available. As is customary, the year-end honorarium (ex-gratia payment in this case for COVID-19 relief) was approved by majority decision for staff members and Commissioners, including Khan. Government announced a pay-out to the Public Service, which came weeks later, but the ERC had already made its decision on a pay-out in November for the aforementioned reason. The government pay-out therefore, was not applicable to the ERC in that instance. Commissioner Khan also made a duplicitous attempt to drag the ERC (which is a non-political body) into the March, 2020 elections saga, a responsibility which lies primarily with GECOM and not with the ERC. The Commission was granted Observer Status by GECOM to observe polling and Commissioners teamed up and fanned out in Regions Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten. A statement issued by the ERC shortly after pronounced that the elections were free and fair and no major hitches were observed on Polling Day. The Commission also issued a press statement welcoming the recount as agreed to by the then President and Opposition Leader. Since the ERC already had Observer Status, Commissioners independently decided to observe the recount, if they so desired. It is critical to remind that in the midst of the protests, robberies and violence unleashed on ordinary citizens following the murders of the Henry cousins and Haresh Singh, the Commission, in a press release (September 7, 2020) condemned the killings and called on all concerned to allow members of the joint services to do their work. In fact, it was impossible for Commissioners to immediately visit West Coast Berbice (WCB), due to the underlying physical threats to public safety. The ERC, like all citizens relied heavily on members of the joint services to restore law and order. Telephone calls to the top brass of the army and police went unanswered to request the provision of escort for ERC Commissioners to visit WCB after the unrest began. Under the dangerous unfolding circumstances, and with the tremendous pressure being faced by the joint services, the ERC nevertheless urged the army and police to intensify efforts to sanitize and clear the blocked roadways along the East Coast Demerara and West Coast Berbice corridors to restore law and order (see ERC Press Release Sept. 10, 2020). Later in September, 2020, I visited the grieving families and, along with Commissioners, prayed with them to obtain closure for the loss they had suffered. A national dialogue, later termed “National Conversation on improving ethnic relations” was finally held in December, 2020. Commissioner Deodat Persaud recommended in 2020 that a virtual format be considered due to concerns regarding COVID-19. The proposed event was originally raised by Commissioner Neaz Subhan in 2018, the first year of the present Commission’s tenure and I agreed to it in principle as Chairman. However, other events such as the tense political atmosphere after the no-confidence motion in December, 2018 resulted in a postponement. It must be emphasized that in 2018, after a lengthy, consultative, and supposedly intense parliamentary sanctioned vetting process, a new Board of Commissioners, with I as Chairman, were sworn in to serve on the ERC for three years. The Commission is a constitutional body and, like similar constitutional agencies, reports to the Speaker of the National Assembly, not to representatives of the ruling or other political parties. After a hiatus lasting seven years (2011- January, 2018), the new board of Commissioners assumed office in April, 2018 with a staff complement of 14 and a low budget approved prior. The reactivated Commission sought and obtained approval from Government for a supplementary budget to cater for a number of new projects and hiring of additional staff (now over 30 persons), travels to various regions and remuneration for Commissioners. The present ERC has been engaged in numerous projects since 2018 and some major undertakings can be highlighted. Commissioners met representatives of the ten constituencies, visited the ten Administrative Regions in the country meeting stakeholders, developed a code of conduct that was signed by all political parties that contested the March 2 elections, launched its Ethnic Harmony Campaign; successfully staged the theatrical play ‘I Am Us’ in 2019, which was later converted to a movie and shown at Caribbean Cinemas, Giftland Mall in January, 2020, free of charge. A series of Public Service Advertisements (PSA’s) were also produced to promote tolerance and understanding. The ERC also conducted workplace meetings at various private and public sector entities to promote harmony and, for the first time since being established in 2002, the Commission last December commenced the prosecution of violators of the Representation of the People Act and Racial Hostility Act. The Investigation Unit was also re-activated and dozens of complaints have been addressed over the period. It is critical to note that expenditures prior to 2018 are not applicable to the present board of Commissioners (see Kaieteur News article Feb. 22, 2021 captioned: “ERC BUDGET JUMPED 5 TMES MORE SINCE 2015 WITH LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY.” Incidentally, the Ministry of Finance commenced and has completed financial audits of the Commission for 2015, 2016 and 2017. Audits for 2018, 2019 and 2020 will commence shortly. Editor, it must be pointed out too for the benefit of your readers, that the removal of a discredited Commissioner(s), (not expected of such a person) is a presidential decision. I wish to urge all relevant stakeholders of civil society to exercise intense precautionary measures and scrutiny when recommending representatives as Commissioners to sit on the Ethnic Relations Commission in future. Thank you and may God bless our beautiful country and its peoples.
Rev. Dr. John O. Smith, CCH
Chairman

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