Dear Editor,
By sheer accident, I ran into the path of “The Unruly Horse” where it’s rider, Mr Anil Nandlall, eloquently (as usual) established many of the instances by this Government, since 2015, of blatant abuse of power, disregard and disrespect for the rule of law, flagrant and obvious racial discrimination as well as political, where persons were perceived not to be in their “camp” (remember the 2000-plus Amerindians who were summarily dismissed, and the Afro Guyanese farmers on West Coast Berbice, whose leases were terminated, from all appearances, it seems, because they were approved by President Ramotar).
I cannot match Anil’s oratory and written skills and carefully noted his mention of the personages of Minister Ashni Singh, MP Dharamkumar Seeraj and others, but would just like to once again bring to the public’s attention the glaring discriminatory manner in which this Government makes its decisions.
In my case, I had a valid contract, which, contrary to what was peddled, was first signed in 2008 (certainly not months before the 2015 elections). My contract would have expired in February 2016, but I was instructed to return to Guyana at the end of August 2015, which instruction I complied with.
After what amounted to a dismissal, absolutely disregarding the terms and conditions of my contract, I put my case to the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affair and finally, Mr David Granger, and after not even an acknowledgement was received, was left with no alternative but to take the Government to court.
To “cut a long story short” I won in the High Court (even though an important element of my entitlement was inadvertently not claimed, and which injustice I still hope to benefit from when the PPP/C again assumes the reigns of Government in March of this year.
The Government has, true to form, unbelievably, appealed the decision. I am now in “holding on mode” to see if my appeal would be heard before the “decade of development” (who believes that, anyway?) ends, and I would be able to enjoy “the good life”, which has so far eluded all, except those in the Government corridors of power.
I remember just about the time I had my problems in getting the Government to honour my contract, statements made by the number two man in Government (many say he is the number one) that Coby Frimpong had a contract for which performance was sadly lacking (my words) but he was paid, even though the contract was incomplete. I wondered at the time if the treatment of Coby’s contract and mine were different because of any particular reason (Coby is Ghanaian and I am Guyanese).
Going back to the Unruly Horse, while Anil mentioned some names, there are many others whose names were not, because of obvious space constraints, but which are imprinted in the electorate’s collective memories, like the name of Kassim Bacchus, a brilliant Guyanese in the educational field, who was hounded out of a job in the Burnham era, and went overseas to significantly contribute to another society.
In closing, however, I cannot fail to mention the case of former President Ramotat’s three children. The treatment of these young people has significance, not only because of who their father is, but because of the depth to which this Government has sunk our dear Guyana.
Some say we are heading back to the Burnham days (and nights) but I say we are there already.
All three of the Ramotar children were removed from the positions they held, and it seems as if their “sin” was having immediate past President Ramotar as their father, a person who was in the “trenches” to help ensure that democracy returned to Guyana.
If the treatment of Lisavita Ramotar and her siblings (who are all three eminently qualified to do the jobs they were doing) is not the most blatant act of discrimination and victimisation, then I am living on another planet.
It seems to me that since they could not come up with excuses to tarnish the name of Mr Ramotar, they have descended with vengeance on his defenceless offsprings. One can only imagine the extreme trauma these persons are going through as a result of the assassination of their characters and competence.
I only hope that when the PPP/C again assumes the Government in March of this year, that the victimisation/discrimination done against the thousands of Guyanese, would be addressed with immediacy.
The voices of the Guyanese people must, on March 2, reverberate to reverse the acts of victimisation/discrimination, the violent rape of the Constitution, the disregard of the rule of law, the nepotism, the corruption, the decline of the economy and the many more negatives that have been the hallmark of this Government and its disgraceful and unforgettable legacy.
Sincerely,
Harry Narine
Nawbatt