Racial incitement

This newspaper does not have to remind readers of the delicate nature of race and ethnic relations in Guyana. All the stakeholders in our country agree on this point and back in the 1990’s a Race Relations Board was established and this was eventually succeeded by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC). Whatever might have been the opinions on the actual functioning of the ERC, there is unanimity on the need for maintaining ethnic harmony.

The ERC is in limbo at the moment on account of the opposition slashing its budget to Gy$1. We therefore view with grave concern a letter in the press penned by the General Secretary of the TUC, Mr Lincoln Lewis. Purporting to address some remarks by President Ramotar on Arrival Day, Mr Lewis made allegations that were clearly designed to stir up inter-ethnic strife, even as he accused the president of doing the same.

Within a few days of his incendiary statements, PM Samuel Hinds responded with facts that conclusively proved the length to which Mr Lewis would go in pursuit of his vendetta against the government. The increased ethnic tensions appear to be acceptable ‘collateral damage’ to Mr Lewis. The gravamen of Mr Lewis’ charge centred on President Ramotar’s allusion to his desire to bring down the costs of electricity for all Guyanese similar to that ‘enjoyed by Linden’.

Mr Lewis’ somehow read into this statement – which described, in point of fact, the government’s strategic decision to develop our hydropower potential – as playing ‘wedge politics’. We do not understand how this accusation can have any validity when the goal articulated by the president and his administration is to have the entire country – including Linden – be treated equally and pay the same rate for electricity. Such a rate, the president was asserting, would be as cheap as possible if the opposition would allow the LCDS money to be used for the Amaila Falls Hydro Project.

But Mr Lewis is entitled to his opinions, perverse as it may be. It is primarily the falsity of the claims that Mr Lewis makes in support of his opinion that concerns us. Mr Lewis is not your ordinary ‘rum shop gaffer’ pontificating on issues of which he has no knowledge: Mr Lewis worked in the bauxite industry, was a Bauxite union leader for years and is fully apprised of the real facts as pointed out by PM Hinds.

Mr Lewis willful misstatement of facts on the bauxite industry and the generation of electricity in Linden has to be seen as a deliberate provocation to raise a false sense of entitlement in Lindeners and animosity towards the government and the people of “Berbice” – read “African Guyanese vs Indian Guyanese”. Mr Lewis bemoaned “the PPP continuous attacks on Linden economic independence/ self-sufficiency, including transferring their electricity equipment to Berbice.”

PM Hinds showed that Linmine had two sources of power generation – one specifically to service the Alumina plant that came on stream in 1961. The excess power from this source was passed on free to the people of Linden by the Bauxite Co. After the plant was run into the ground and abandoned by the PNC in 1982, it fell into disrepair.

Mr Hinds flatly contradicted Mr Lewis: “The boilers, steam turbines and alternators are still in the steam power station.” Mr Hinds then showed the insidious manner in which Lewis engaged in publishing half-truths to cause confusion. “With respect to diesel generators, all in the diesel generating plant were in poor condition and were abandoned when Omai brought their Wartsila diesel station into operation in Linden in 2005. And yes, two of the abandoned engines were transferred to GPL in 2009, and were totally rebuilt and installed at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice, and Versailles, West Bank Demerara.”

These areas, unlike what the word ‘Berbice’ connotes to Guyanese, are most ethnically diverse. All Guyanese must condemn Mr Lewis’ provocations.