Category: Speeches and Presentations
HomeSpeeches and Presentations

Speeches and Presentations

Address of His Excellency Brigadier David Granger President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to the Inaugural General Meeting of the Cooperative Credit Union of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly ─ Guyana 2020.06.02

Cooperative credit unions and economic empowerment

The General Assembly of the United Nations designated the decade 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2024 as the International Decade for the People of African Descent [via Resolution 68/237 of 23rd December 2013] and adopted a Programme of activities for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent [by Resolution 69/16 of 18th November 2014].
Given that the Decade is expected to last 3, 652 days, 1,979 days have elapsed and 1,673 days remain. The mid-point of the decade passed on 31st December 2019.
The ‘International Decade’ acknowledges that Africans were the victims of the greatest crime against humanity and continue to suffer from dispossession, discrimination and intergenerational poverty. The ‘International Decade’ recognises that people of African descent have not yet fully overcome the legacy of colonial underdevelopment which continues to contribute to their present condition.

The Programme of Activities, proposed by the United Nations, rests on 3 pillars – recognition, justice and development. The ‘Programme’ recognizes that poverty is both a cause and consequence of discrimination. It urged that states should take appropriate steps to: “… strengthen national programmes for eradicating poverty and reducing social exclusion that take account of the specific needs and experiences of people of African descent…”

I proposed a five-point Plan of Action for the International Decade, in my address to the Cuffy 250 Forum in August 2016. I urged that the ‘Plan’ include efforts aimed at African economic empowerment.

The registration of a Cooperative Credit Union, by the International Decade of People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana, is a step in the direction of economic empowerment and eradicating poverty. It is in accordance with the objectives declared in the Programme of Activities of the ‘International Decade’ and with the five-point ‘Plan’ which I had proposed in 2016.

Cooperative credit banks existed in British Guiana over a century ago. These institutions first emerged in response to African subsistence farmers’ need for loans.

The ‘old model’ cooperative credit banks catered primarily for small loans for small-scale agricultural production and for meeting basic household and emergency needs. The ‘old model’ did serve the purpose for which it was intended. A ‘new model’ is needed to become an engine of economic development.

History records that Africans embarked on a quest for economic emancipation 182 years ago. They sought a better life for themselves and their children away from the oppressive plantation system.

The Great Village Movement started on 7th November 1839, a mere one year after Emancipation. This initial transaction triggered other purchases and led to the Great Village Movement which has been described as:
“…the most spectacular and aggressive land settlement movement in the history of the people of the British Caribbean and a movement which seemed to one planter in British Guiana to be certainly without parallel in the history of the world!”

More than two out of every three Guyanese still live in villages. Most African-Guyanese still live in over a hundred villages which are the inheritance bequeathed by Emancipated Africans to their progeny. Their descendants, today, protect and promote the economic development of these villages and the livelihood of their residents. Guyanese, still by and large belong to villages.

The early proprietors faced formidable obstacles in their pursuit of economic empowerment, however. They expended exorbitant amounts of cash for the abandoned plantations. This left them exposed to oppressive colonial taxes and unable to meet the expenses of infrastructural development, such as drainage and irrigation.

Water-borne disease such as cholera also took a deadly toll added to which many villagers suffered from economic exhaustion and a lack of financial capital.

African economic empowerment was aided by their willingness to enter ‘collective’ (not ‘cooperative’) ventures and by their proclivity for thrift and savings. Some came together, pooled their resources and purchased, collectively, abandoned plantations on which they established homes, churches and farmsteads.

These were ‘communal’ villages where the property was allocated by agreement in shares. There were, also, ‘proprietary’ villages in which each purchaser owned his own property.

Africans left a proud tradition of frugality and thrift. Their capacity and propensity to save allowed them to overcome the lack of access to capital. Some retained the ancestral tradition of raising funds through informal schemes such as ‘box-hand’ in an effort to circumvent the difficulties in sourcing funds from formal banking institutions.

Savings is a basis of investment. Financial institutions utilize savings to lend. There can be no lending and no investment without savings. Savings, however, were never going to be sufficient to drive economic enterprise after Emancipation. The needs of the peasantry demanded easier access to financial capital.

Africans pioneered cooperative credit banks at the village level in order to raise funds for economic activities. These early cooperative credit banks were patterned after the Raiffeisen Banks of Austria which had come to the attention of James Mc Farlane Corry, the convener of the first Village Chairmen’s Conference and who served as its Chairman from 1904 to 1924.

Corry, at that time, ever serious and studious, became aware of the functioning of ‘Raiffeisen’ banks in Austria. These banks were founded by Friederich Wilhelm Raiffeisen and provided small loans, at low rates, for designated purposes, to worthy members of the German agrarian population.

Corry thought it would be good for local small farmers in British Guiana to have access to similar sources of credit. He brought the idea to the notice of the Village Chairmen’s Conference in August 1904, admitting that he knew nothing of how such banks actually functioned.

Certain members of Victoria Village modified the proposed plan to suit their local conditions and, in August 1905, started the first local Co-operative Credit Bank. Rose Hall and Buxton Villages, among others, followed. The banks were predicated on self-help and grassroots membership.

The fortunes of the cooperative credit banks, however, were tied to the economic fortunes of their members, principally, poor, peasant farmers. Agricultural crop failures – caused by droughts and floods – resulted in many of these farmers being unable to pay their debts to the banks.

Cooperative credit banks collapsed by 1912, but were revived in 1914 under an arrangement which allowed for government loans and legislation was passed to regulate the banks’ supervision, management and shareholding. More prudential lending was employed during this period of restoration. These changes had a profound impact on cooperative credit banks:
– the number of such banks increased from 3 in 1915 to 27 by 1920;
– the number of shareholders expanded from 280 to more than 9,000 over the corresponding period;
– the banks’ paid up capital expanded more than 100-fold over this period; and
– the banks’ membership was expanded to include non-Africans.
Cooperative credit banks were established across the country’s villages. Banks were established:
– in the county of Berbice (at Abary, Block, El Dorado, Expectation, Hopetown, Lichfield and Skeldon);
– in the county of Essequibo (at Essequibo North, Essequibo South, Leguan, North-West District and Wakenaam); and,
– in the county of Demerara(at Beterverwagting-Triumph, Buxton- Friendship, Canal No. 1 Polder, Den Amstel-

Fellowship, Georgetown, Goed Intent-Sisters, Goedverwagting, Golden Grove-Nabacalis, Mahaicony, Plaisance-Sparendaam, Supply-Mahaica, Vergenoegen, Victoria-Belfied and Vreed-en-Hoop).

Cooperative credit banks did much good work in saving small farmers from loan sharks and assorted money-lenders.

They assisted them to overcome the vagaries and the inevitable difficult periods which afflict peasant farming on the coastland. Cooperative credit unions provided support to households and for small-scale economic ventures.
The early cooperative credit banks were strongly tied to the communities. Their shareholders were drawn predominantly from the working class. They encouraged both lending and savings. They were an instrument of economic empowerment.

These cooperative credit banks were integrated into African communities, their shareholders were broad-based and multi-ethnic and they provided loans, at low interest rates, for economic ventures at the level of the village. Cooperative credit banks encouraged not only lending but also savings.

Cooperative credit banks bequeathed a model of a financial institutions geared towards providing funding for personal, family and household needs and in support of subsistence and small-scale economic activity.

The model, however, never became a major driver of economic enterprise. It is unsuited to the demands of modern competitive industrial and manufacturing business development and needs to be replaced by a new model.

Cooperative credit unions were the successors of the cooperative credit banks. The cooperative credit unions have declined, with only 30 such institutions existing as at October 2019. Credit unions today account for slightly more than 24,000 members with estimated assets of US$28.9M.

The ‘new model’ of cooperative credit unions must become an engine of enterprise development. Cooperative credit unions should graduate beyond catering only for elementary stage of development – the provision of personal and subsistence loans. The ‘new model’, I suggest, should cater for four stages of economic enterprise development:
– traditional or subsistence stage;
– commercial or retailstage;
– industrial or manufacturing stage; and
– internationally-competitive stage

Cooperative credit unions should aim at financing not only small-scale agriculture, agro-processing and craft ventures but also commercial enterprises – the second stage of development. The third stage of development – the industrial stage – would involve the provision of capital for industrial development. The fourth stage would result in cooperative credit union providing support for the production of internationally- competitive commodities.

The ambition of new model should be to provide financial services from the level of the small farmer and household, right up to the level of industry. Financing is needed at the levels of micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises, particularly in the agriculture and agro-processing sector.

Government has launched a number of initiatives aimed at stimulating these sectors. The G$50M agro-processing plant at Parika, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara Region, was established in March 2020. The investment allows for the processing of 130 kg of produce per hour, benefits some 100 small farmers and provides employment for 20 persons.

The Regional Agricultural and Commercial Exhibitions (RACE) has become a catalyst for economic diversification led by micro, small- and medium scale enterprises. The Rural Entrepreneurial Agricultural Project (REAP) aims to revitalize rural village economies.

The ‘new model’ which I propose, envisages cooperative credits union as financial institutions with increasing assets, reserves, savings and shareholdings. The model is one which would see shareholding and savings widened and with a more diversified lending portfolio. All of this would necessitate legislative and regulatory changes.

The ‘new model’ is necessary for economic empowerment. Its development for the remaining years of the International Decade of People of African Descent.

I urge the International Decade of People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana to consider carefully the adoption of a new model of cooperative credit unions that will not be marginalized within the overall financial sector but which has the potential to compete eventually with the formal financial sector and to stimulate enterprise development at the subsistence, commercial, industrial and internationally- competitive stages.

I commend the International Decade of People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana on the establishment of the Cooperative Credit Union. The credit union is one of the many projects which will be undertaken by the Assembly but it has special significance for local economic empowerment.

I congratulate the Union on its inaugural General Meeting. I wish it every success, beyond 2024 and for decades to come. I thank you.

President David Granger’s address at the General Assembly of the International Decade of People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana

Education is our culture

The International Decade for People of African Descent

This General Assembly of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G) is an important opportunity to review the past and plan for the future. The Decade began on the 1st January 2015 and will end on the 31st December 2024.  The ‘Decade’ is close to its half-way mark. Half of the life of IDPADA-G has already expired. The clock is ticking.

The International Decade for People of African Descent will not happen again. There will be no other. The United Nations dedicated the first quarter, i.e., twenty-five years, of this new century to emphasize and take action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

The UN designated a Year for People of African Descent in 2011 and launched the Decade four years later. The Decade is a unique opportunity for African-Guyanese to concentrate their collective experiences and energies so that we could bequeath to our children and grandchildren a better Guyana than we inherited.

 

 

The ‘International Decade’ has its antecedents in the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance which was held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. The ‘Conference’ acknowledged that slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade were “…among the major sources and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances” and that people of African descent continue to be among the victims of its consequences.

The ‘Conference’ asserted that poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion and economic disparities are associated with racism and racial discrimination. People of African descent still face barriers as a result of social biases and discrimination present in public and private institutions. You must remember that some of the authors of that crime against humanity have never apologised and have never paid reparations.

The Decade:

  • acknowledges that Africans in the diaspora today are descendants of the victims of the Trans-Atlantic Trade in Captive Africans – the greatest crime against humanity – and continue to suffer from dispossession, discrimination and inter-generational poverty;
  • admits that people of African descent have not yet overcome fully the legacy of colonial underdevelopment which continues to contribute to their present condition; and
  • aims at people of African descent outside of the African continent who are estimated to number more than 200 million in the Caribbean and Americas.

Education

The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which emerged from the ‘Conference’, emphasised the importance of education in combatting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances. The ‘Declaration’ affirmed that education was essential to:

  • promoting tolerance and respect for diversity;
  • protecting democratic values; and
  • providing for equity, harmony, mutual understanding, social justice and respect for human rights in inclusive societies.

The United Nations Programme of activities for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent commits UN member states to “support research and educational initiatives” and, also, to:

…ensure that quality education is accessible and available in areas where communities of African descent live, particularly in rural and marginalized communities, with attention to improving the quality of public education.

Education, in this wider cultural context, extends beyond the classroom. It involves peoples’ histories, race, religion and economic political and social relations. Culture, in turn, can impact on the values of education and the way it is organized and taught.

Education prepares people for social integration and cannot be divorced from its cultural context. It has to be responsive to that context and to the challenges which it presents.

I addressed a conference in Victoria Village on 5th August 2010, referring to the eternal contest in human history – between emancipation and enslavement. The race between education and catastrophe, to the extent that there is no education there would be catastrophe; to the extent there is no education people would remain enslaved.

“Everywhere in the world, in every era, the educationally and technologically superior have sought to dominate and to inculcate the acceptance of subordination in those they deem to be inferior.”

It is difficult for the extremely poor to be treated, to be regarded, to be perceived as equals. Most poor people are the children of poor people and it is likely that their children will be poor also. Education is essential if the cycle of ‘hereditary poverty’ is to be broken.

Education has been one of the outstanding contributions of African-Guyanese to the nation. Education, next to economic liberation, was the greatest gift of Emancipation. African-Guyanese embraced education as a means of providing a better life for themselves, their families and future generations.  They supported the establishment of social institutions for education and religious instruction, including by providing lands for the establishment of churches and schools.

African-Guyanese were pioneers in providing educational opportunities during the last century. Norman Cameron, an educationist, essayist, mathematician, historian and dramatist established his own school – the Guianese Academy. The Costello brothers – Austin, Cosmo and Joseph – established the Tutorial High School which provided education for children of low-income parents among others.

Access to education created opportunities for the professional development of African-Guyanese. Their presence increased – in public education, public administration, public health, public security and public information – as a result of the educational opportunities.

Emancipated Africans employed their education to re-construct their world.  Education was the gateway to their entry into every field of human endeavour and national life. The African-Guyanese contribution to education played an important part in national integration and should be sustained not supplanted.

Culture

The United Nations Programme of activities for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent emphasises the importance of culture. One of the Decade’s objectives is to:

“… promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture

and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies.”

Education and culture are connected inextricably.  Education prepares people to live in, and adapt to, society; preserves and transmits cultural knowledge, skills and values and propagates cultural beliefs, customs, mores, traditions, symbols and values.

The history of humanity is the history of interactions. Conquest, travel and migration have exposed people to different cultures. Education has been transformed through these and contacts.

The history of Guyana is one of interactions among various peoples and their cultures. These cultures have added to our cultural diversity and, in turn, have impacted on education.

Language reflects the influence of this diversity. Richard Allsopp pointed to the linguistic contribution of these groups, exemplified in the everyday use of words and expressions which, typically, are Guyanese or creolese – paal, rod, koker and stelling (Dutch); bateau (French), kwe-kwe, fu-fu, metemgee (African), dharoo (Indian) and benab, matapee and warishi (Amerindian). Other expressions – such as ‘eye-pass’, ‘cut-eye’; ‘hard-ears’ and ‘suck-teeth’ – are typical creolese.

The British had a great impact on the public education system. The influence is present through the schools they established, the curricula, uniforms, discipline and the organization of the school year which coincided with the Anglo-Christian school year with its Easter and Christmas terms. You cannot separate education from the cultural experience.

Culture and education interact in the classrooms which, in many secondary schools, consist of a constellation of ethnicities – Africans, Amerindians, Chinese, Indians, Portuguese and persons of mixed ancestry and religious denominations such as Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Rastafarians. Each cultural group has its own customs, dress, festivals, food, holy days and traditions. Schooling exposes Guyanese children to these varied influences.

Religion and education are linked. I recall my own experience when, growing up, I attended four primary schools –  St. John the Baptist Anglican Primary School in Bartica; Auchlyne Church of Scotland School on the Corentyne; Comenius Moravian Primary School in Queenstown and Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School also in Georgetown – all had churches which were annexed or located within the same compound.

The six top secondary schools in Guyana – Berbice High School, Bishops’ High School, Queens College, St. Joseph High School, St. Rose’s High School and St. Stanislaus College – all began as Christian schools and are all more than 100 years old.

I recall, also, that the typical Muslim masjid had a Madrasa – a room for teaching children. The Hindu mandir, also, had a school.   Christian, Hindu and Islamic schools are today once again being established among other things to propagate certain cultural codes. When we speak of education, we are not speaking of a valueless phenomenon. Values are already embedded in those schools.

Creole culture

I pointed out, in an article – The material culture of African-Guyanese – [pub. 29th July 2010], that African-Guyanese, despite two centuries of enslavement, were able to create a distinctive creole culture.

They seized the opportunity of Emancipation to establish the foundations of a civilized life – the quest for education, employment, equality and the pursuit of happiness. They founded over a hundred communities during the post-Emancipation Great Village Movement – that were the wellspring of a distinctive culture.

What came to be called ‘Creole’ culture eventually evolved as the consequence of the economic privation, social subordination and political domination which prevailed at that time.

The term ‘Creole’ – used originally to distinguish local-born from foreign-born – became used widely during the 19th century, according to Brian Moore, to refer to persons of African descent who were distinguished from those of all other ethnic groups.

Creole culture was engendered, therefore, entirely through the African-Guyanese experience. Certain values – cooperative work, love of the land, religious faith, self-reliance and thrift – came to typify their communities at an early stage of development.

The cultural movement

I expressed the view, in an address in August 2013, that Guyanese history has been marked by five movements – emancipation, village, political, labour- a very important movement in the Emancipation of the Guyanese people and cultural. Some aspects of the cultural movement have been ignored and that is why I think IDPADA-G should continue to pay attention to the cultural movement because it is inseparable from education. Education is not about pouring water into an empty vessel. It is about inculcating certain values and standards.

Each movement had a massive impact on Guyanese population. The majority of African Guyanese still live in villages, the majority of Indian Guyanese still live in villages all part of that village movement. Each had a transformative effect on the country. Each involved a significant mass of the population.

The Cultural Movement that sprang from the loins of the Village Movement was propelled by the introduction of universal primary education in 1876. The struggle for civil and political rights started in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The African masses along with other ethnic groups were the motive force in the transformation of a patchwork of plantations into a free nation. During this cultural movement there were the luminaries were: Norman Cameron, the educator and writer who founded the British Guiana Literary Society and the British Guiana Union of Cultural Clubs; Aubrey Williams, acclaimed as one of our greatest artist; Martin Carter, one of our greatest poets; Wilson Harris, one of our greatest writers;  Helen Taitt, one of our most accomplished danseuse; and Valerie Rodway, one of our most outstanding composer of national and patriotic songs. All of these were part of the cultural movement which made us what we are.

This cultural revolution, this cultural movement helped to make us what we are. The cultural movement was visible in other areas. This movement created a foundation on which the present nation is built.

The great value African-Guyanese placed on their ancestors’ historical achievements by erecting memorial monuments was a distinctive characteristic of creole society. The most important events have been Emancipation in 1838, the purchase and foundation of the villages in the 19th century and Independence in 1966. Some typical examples are:

  • Ann’s Grove and Two Friends Centenary Monument, commemorating the centenary of the purchase of the villages by free Africans on 5th May 1847;
  • Beterverwagting Emancipation Monument – a striking structure showing a hand with a broken chain, clutching a book, said to represent the registered title to the property in which the village was founded;
  • Golden Grove Centenary Monument, commemorating the centenary of the purchase of the village in May 1948;
  • Lichfield Centenary Monument, commemorating the centenary of the purchase of the village on 14th November 1840;
  • Nabaclis 150th Anniversary Monument, commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the purchase of the village on 25th May 1998;
  • Friendship Emancipation Monument, commemorating the centenary of Emancipation in 1838;
  • Kildonan Independence Monument, commemorating national Independence on 26th May 1966;
  • Plaisance Independence Monument, commemorating national Independence; and
  • Victoria Emancipation Monument, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Emancipation on 1st August 1988.

Monuments erected in homage to important personages memorialise their outstanding stewardship and leadership.  In some instances, the names of personages – village leaders – have been inscribed on monuments marking their accomplishments. There are several examples:

  • Bagotville Memorial Monument honouring the memory of Jake Croker, a popular folklorist and nationalist;
  • Den Amstel Memorial Monument, erected to the memory of James McFarlane Corry who is regarded as the ‘father’ of local government;
  • Forbes Burnham Memorial Monument and Forbes Burnham Mausoleum in the Botanical Gardens, dedicated to the memory of the ‘father’ of Independence; and
  • Hubert Critchlow Monument, honouring the ‘father’ of the trade union movement.

These are important landmarks in the educational and cultural development of this nation.

Other events which have been memorialised are revolts prior to 1838. There are three main national monuments:

  • 1763 Monument, honouring the heroes of the Berbice Revolt;
  • 1823 Monument, honouring the heroes of the Demerara Revolt; and
  • 1834 Monument, honouring the leader of the Essequibo Revolt.

A vibrant African-Guyanese press flourished – the Freeman’s Sentinel, Creole, Liberator, Working Man and Villager – which helped to inform the public and articulate the opinions of the community. Books on African-Guyanese history followed their exemplary lead:

  • Cultural Power, resistance and Pluralism. Colonial Guyana, 1838-1900 and Race, power and social segmentation in colonial society. Guyana after slavery, 1838-1891, by Brian Moore;
  • Colonialism and underdevelopment, by Alvin Thompson; and
  • Themes in African-Guyanese History, by Winston Mc Gowan, James Rose and David Granger.

You cannot understand what we are going through and what we need to do without careful analysis, research, without a deep understanding of these things which are being documented.

IDPADA-G has a mission, an obligation, a duty to conduct this sort of education because you cannot solve a problem if you do not know the nature of the problem.

Creole cuisine, comprising meals belonging to, or typical of, African-Guyanese, is an enduring aspect of material culture. Some examples are Congotay; Cou-Cou; Fu-fu; Kaanki (also called conkie) and Metemgee.

Creole cuisine is still very popular throughout the year. It is clear from these examples that, from the time of the founding of the villages over 180 years ago, the founders’ resourcefulness and ingenuity in laying the foundation of the nation were evident.

We should organise to help people understand that there is not a cultural vacuum, there is not a void there is no backwardness. It is a rich culture and if people understood better we would move further, even faster.

The Guyana Assembly

The ‘International Decade’ – conceived and planned to remedy the legacy of discrimination, disempowerment and dispossession caused by the Trans-Atlantic trade and the enslavement of persons of African descent – identified education as an important vehicle for empowering persons of African descent. We cannot move forward without arming ourselves with these educational tools.

The ‘International Decade’ would have failed in its mission if it tried to separate education from culture.  Education is the principal means through which culture is propagated and preserved. Culture, in turn, shapes educational development.

The objectives of the ‘International Decade’, in so far as education is concerned, complement the emphasis which my Government will place on education in the forthcoming Decade of Development: 2020-2029. The Decade of Development will aim, inter alia, at:

  • enforcing the constitutional entitlement of every Guyanese child to free university education;
  • ensuring a first-class educational system, one which would ensure that: ‘every child [has a place] in school’ and that there is ‘a school in every village’;
  • enabling every child to attend and stay in school, through expanding of initiatives such as the Public Education Transport Services (PETS) and the national schools’ feeding programme;
  • extending regional and hinterland educational development; and
  • encouraging the involvement of communities and cultural and social organizations in education.

This Assembly could do well to preserve that precious legacy of education which was bequeathed by the African-Guyanese forefathers. It would be a most fitting tribute and an enduring monument to the International Decade for People of African Descent.

Attorney General’s Presentation at the Assembly 2018

The clock is ticking The International Decade for People of African Descent was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations, via Resolution 68/237 on the 23rd December 2013. The ‘International Decade’ runs from 2015 to 2024 inclusive. We are deep into the fourth year of the Decade.

The designation of the ‘International Decade’ acknowledges that Africans were the victims of the greatest crime against humanity and continue to suffer from dispossession and discrimination. The Decade is a recognition that persons of African descent have not yet fully overcome the legacy of colonial underdevelopment which continues to contribute to their present condition.

The contributions of the people of African Descent in Guyana are evident as this country was built on the back of slaves.  The blood, sweat and tears of the African watered the land. These slaves were brought to Guyana to work on the sugar plantations and endured the worst crime committed against humanity (the transatlantic slave trade).  However, the cruel institution of slavery could not quench the spirit of the slaves as many revolted and eventually freedom was won.  The freed slaves were industrious and bought villages and through their efforts Guyana contributed greatly to the development of Guyana.  African descendants have also contributed to the cultural tapestry of Guyana, as the slaves even though efforts were made to strip them of their culture, religion and very identity, still managed to pass down from generation to generation their rich heritage.

However, despite their contribution, according to the UN, people of African Descent are among the poorest and marginalized groups. They are often victimized and subject to police brutality and racial profiling. People of African descent have limited access to justice, quality education, health services, housing and social security. Not only are they discriminated on the basis of color but also age, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, social origin, property, disability, birth, or other status.  It is for this reason that the International Decade for People of African Descent was proclaimed by UN General Assembly resolution 68/237. The decade will be observed from 2015 to 2024. It allows not only the UN but Member States, civil society and all other relevant actors to join together with people of African descent and take effective measures for the implementation of the programme of activities in the spirit of recognition, justice and development. The decade requires us to among other things-

 

  • remove all obstacles that prevent equal enjoyment of all human rights, economic, social, cultural, civil and political, including the right to development,
  • promote the effective implementation of national and international legal frameworks;
  • engage in educational and awareness raising activities to foster equality and restoring the dignity of people of African Descent,
  • ensure access to justice and promote the development of the people of African Descent and take measures against poverty.

The ‘International Decade’, is call for concerted action to bring about change in ensuring that persons of African descent gain recognition, justice and development.  Countries are taking action to advance the objectives of the ‘International Decade.’ From Argentina to Italy, Lithuania to Mexico practical initiatives have been launched to promote greater justice, recognition and development for persons of African descent.

This is therefore the time for action, not prevarication. This is the time for unity, not division. There is an old African saying, when elephants fight, it is the grass which get trampled.

The ‘International Decade’ at the local level should be transformative. It should lay the foundation for overcoming the historical and structural impediments to African- Guyanese empowerment. It should imbue African-Guyanese with a sense of pride and with a renewed purpose.  It should result in concrete benefits.

President David Granger, addressing the Annual Cuffy 250 Forum in 2016, sounded the bugle for action. He called on African-Guyanese to organize and not agonise. The President outlined a five point proposal, which has been adopted by the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana. The five point proposal calls for emphasis to be placed on education, employment, economic empowerment, equality and expiation. President Granger’s five point proposal promotes the themes of the decade: recognition, justice and development.

The duty of this Assembly is to move that proposal forward. The work of this Assembly is to accelerate local awareness of the International Decade and to take action to advance and to implement its programme of action.

This programme of action should be inclusive. Greater recognition for African-Guyanese should not be achieved at the expense of derecognizing others; justice for African-Guyanese should not be at the price of injustice; development of African-Guyanese should not result in the underdevelopment of others.

The Assembly’s programme is one aimed at ensuring African-Guyanese recognition, justice and development. It is a struggle ‘for’ rather than a struggle ‘against’ any other group.

I want to leave six important lessons, drawn from the history of African-Guyanese which can be instructive in supporting the work of this Assembly.

The first (1st) of these lessons is hope. I do not consider the African-Guyanese community to be in a state of crisis. African-Guyanese, like all ethnic communities, have its problems. No community is without its difficulties. No community is without hope. The African-Guyanese community must not therefore succumb to the trap hopelessness. The African community is not without resources to overcome its present difficulties. The African Guyanese community can find answers to its problems from within its bosom.

The African-Guyanese community has cultural resources; it has its traditions and values passed on through generations.  The International Decade for People of African Descent is an opportunity to affirm the values of fortitude, prudence, self-organization and solidarity which have sustained Africans throughout their struggles.

The second (2nd) of these lessons, as I mentioned, is that of industry. The fore-parents of African-Guyanese did not sit on their hands. They took action. No one is going to do African Guyanese a favor in their quest for improving their position in society. You have the resources to do much more because your fore-parents were able to achieve much with less.  If the challenges facing this community are to be overcome, if the problems that afflict persons of African descent are to be addressed, this has to be done through the efforts of the African-Guyanese community. African-Guyanese should therefore organize for action.

The third (3rd) lesson is that there can be no dignity without freedom and no freedom without dignity. The world today is rife with new forms of slavery and exploitation.  The struggles of African-Guyanese for greater dignity should be associated, therefore, with the efforts to end all forms of human subjugation and to ensure work with dignity, bread with dignity and freedom with dignity.

The fourth (4th) lesson is the legacy of the importance which African-Guyanese fore-parents bequeathed. That gateway is education. On July 31, 2015, during an address to a deed handing-over ceremony of the South Campus of the St. Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies, President David Granger observed that “our fore-parents saw education as the vehicle for self-emancipation, enhanced self-esteem, social equality, economic well-being and political representation.”  

Education has allowed scores of African-Guyanese, through all generations since Emancipation, to graduate out of poverty.  Education has brought greater respect. It provided choices and unlocked opportunities for employment. Education must remain a bedrock of efforts to promote the political and economic empowerment of African-Guyanese.

The fifth (5th) lesson from history is rekindling the kinship with the land. Africa-Guyanese have a proud and strong tradition in agriculture.  After the Emancipation of slavery, a peasantry comprised of freed African slaves developed throughout the villages. Africans need to return to the land. African Guyanese have a strong tradition in agriculture. We should reignite that tradition as a means of fostering African-Guyanese economic empowerment.

The sixth (6th) lesson concerns our villages. The village movement in Guyana was a creation of freed Africans who pooled their resources and bought abandoned plantations. The village was an organic community.  In newly established villages, there was a strong sense of communal solidarity. People built together; their bore their losses together; they supported each other in times of distress. People looked out for one another other; they took care of each other. Children were not just the responsibility of their parents. The education of children was also the responsibility of the entire village. That spirit of communal solidarity needs to be resurrected.

Villages are being revitalized. This is a national policy. The majority of Guyanese still live in villages. Local democracy has been restored to allow residents to have a greater say in the decision-making of their communities.  Village infrastructure and social services are being improved. Village economies are being stimulated to generate jobs and incomes. This Assembly, in its programme of work, is expected to pay attention to the development of villages – the cradle of African-Guyanese empowerment.

The agenda for recognition, justice and development, is before us all. The task before African Guyanese is to not only invent solutions but to tap the unquestionable cultural resources that lie at their disposal. These resources will help in advancing the development of African-Guyanese in our multicultural society.

African-Guyanese should assume responsibility for their future. The task of self- emancipation lies in your hands and your hands alone. Ensure that you use those hands responsibly.

I wish every success to this Assembly. I thank you.

‘Guyanese must disassociate themselves from denialism’ -President Granger calls for concerted effort to tackle social ills at Cuffy 250 Forum

Georgetown, Guyana – (August 26, 2018) President David Granger, today, called on all Guyanese to disassociate themselves from denialism as he noted that inconvenient truths particularly about the country’s challenges must not be concealed but, rather, every person must contribute to crafting and implementing plans to improve education, employment and empowerment. President Granger was at the time delivering the feature address at the Cuffy 250 State of African-Guyanese Forum, which was held at the Critchlow Labour College Auditorium.

“We should not allow people to deny that there are problems because that would obstruct us from implementing solutions. I believe Cuffy 250 is one of the solutions. Where there are problems, we must be courageous enough to admit there are problems and look for solutions and sometimes it calls for research. We must all do much more to quicken the pace at which social problems are solved, local democracy firmly re-established, community development improved and the people could enjoy a good life,” he said.

In his address to the Forum, President Granger said that Guyanese, in pursuit of a ‘good life’, ought to avoid the dangers of ‘denialism’. Noting that denialism distorts the reality of present-day conditions, constructs a false reality and leads, inevitably, to failure, the Head of State said that Guyanese deceive themselves and others when social reality is denied and this can lead to consequences.

“A prominent leader of one country, notoriously, denied the link between Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and because of that denial 330,000 people died because his Government refused to provide treatment to HIV-infected persons. Even today people deny the impacts of global warming. Other prominent persons have described global warming as an ‘expensive hoax.’ Cigarette manufacturers have long denied the link between smoking and cancer. Denialism, in every phase of life, could have dangerous consequences but there is another side to denialism,” the President shared.

The President said that denialism can be seen in a recent article, in which a prominent Guyanese writer “asserted that African-Guyanese practised ‘self- hatred’; accused African-Guyanese of “cultural blindness”; alleged that African-Guyanese were “surrendering their collective dignity to the dictates of party politics”; attacked African-Guyanese for “losing faith in the ability to overcome” and of “dumping the emancipation spirit;” and claimed that “There has been no bigger sinner against the blackman, since Emancipation, than the blackman himself.””

–

President Granger noted that this is a form of denial, which seeks to deny that this whole group in society has the capacity, the self-respect and self- esteem to transform their lives, to belong to political parties to improve their lives and to be culturally aware. “There has been no credible research to explain these reckless pronouncements. I am convinced that national problems can be resolved but they cannot be resolved by inventing fake theories and notions, which refute reality and impede the process of solving the problems that confront society. We need to examine causation and causation of pervasive social problems needs to be determined before correct solutions can be sought and implemented.

There are problems and we should not deny that there are problems because if we deny there are problems, we would never find correct solutions,” he said.

The Head of State noted that one of the main problems particularly, which affect Guyanese currently, are the rate of school ‘dropouts’, which see at least seven students leaving school per day, with the highest incidence being in public secondary schools where at least five students drop out every day. The rate of unemployment, which is estimated at 12 per cent of the labour force or about 37,119 persons is another problem plaguing the Guyanese community. Thirdly, he pointed to the alarming rate of teenage pregnancy, which is the highest in the Caribbean Community; more than 3,000 Guyanese teenage girls become pregnant every year.

He said that denying the prevalence and pervasiveness of these problems will not solve them. Instead, he issued a call for a concerted effort to successfully address them. “These are big problems and we cannot deny that they exist. We cannot take our hands away from working towards a solution. We are seeking solutions and we need organisations like yours, non-governmental organisations and civil society, churches, religious organisations, Mandirs and Mosques to work together to solve these problems for all Guyanese particularly young Guyanese,” he said.

The President said that it is for this reason that emphasis is being intensified on Technical Vocational Education Training as a means of building human capacity and expanding opportunities for young persons not in education, employment or training (known by the acronym – NEET). Thus far, the Essequibo Technical Institute, Leonora Technical and Vocational Training Centre, Guyana Industrial Training Centre, Government Technical Institute, Carnegie School of Home Economics, Mahaicony Technical and Vocational Training Centre, New Amsterdam Technical Institute, Corentyne Industrial Training Centre and the Linden Technical Institute have a combined enrolment of 3,776 students.

“The work of these institutes and centres is being supplemented by training programmes organised by the Board of Industrial Training [BIT] and by Practical Instruction Centres and Practical Instruction Departments in secondary schools. We are working to ensure that 42 schools will have practical instruction workshops by 2020. Robust efforts have been made to reduce school absenteeism and improve attendance particularly at public schools. Quietly, the Public Education Transport Service [PETS] (known popularly as the 3 B’s Initiative) has responded to the reality that many parents could not afford the cost of transport to send their children to school. PETS has had an impact on school attendance and household savings. The Service has distributed 1,184 bicycles, 27 buses and 9 boats. More children are going to school. PETS is saving parents money; in some cases the savings can be as high as $48,000 per month per student – money which can now be funnelled into improving households,” the Head of State said.

He noted that unemployment is being reduced through the promotion of self-employment. The President said that it is his belief that once young people are given the training and opportunity, they will want to work, and therefore, the Government and civil society must help to provide them with the training, opportunities and resources.

“Almost 400 community projects – financed under the Sustainable Livelihoods and Entrepreneurial Development [SLED] project, the Community Organized for the Restoring the Environment [CORE] project, the Amerindian Development Find [ADF] and the Basic Needs Trust Fund [BNTF] – have been granted $3.7B. These programmes are not to be laughed at,” the Head of State said.

Further, Micro-financing interventions – the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN); the Micro- and Small-Enterprises Development (MSED) project and the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) – have provided G$1.2 B in grants and loans to more than 3,000 young entrepreneurs, including first-time business start-ups.

“We are also working at improving the quality of workers’ lives. Workers’ standards of living are being improved. Public servants’, including teachers have had their minimum wage raised by over 50 per cent since this administration took office. So there have been interventions not by denying the capabilities of Guyanese to respond, not by saying that they don’t have cultural roots but by giving them tools to become self-reliant and develop their self-esteem. There is no cultural blindness. Once they are given the assistance they can see their way forward,” the President expressed.

He also noted that another intervention to fixing problems has been the restoration of local democracy through the return of Local Government Elections (LGEs). “Local democracy has come alive. The system of local democracy has been re-invigorated. We should not allow denialism to undermine our self-respect or our self-esteem,” he said.

Ms. Elsie Harry Ross, member of the Cuffy 250 Forum in response to the President’s remarks pledged to ensure that the Committee is vigilant and does not become a victim to denialism.

Recommit to fulfilling objectives of the International Decade of People of African Descent -President Granger at Cuffy 250 annual forum

President David Granger said that the International Decade of People of African Descent (IDPAD) is too important to become an opportunity for racial or religious recrimination or to serve as an outlet for ‘fake’ history. He also called for purposeful and expeditious actions to ensure that the objectives of the Decade are met. The Head of State made these remarks, today, at the Cuffy 250 Committee’s Fifth Annual State of the African Guyanese Forum, which was held at the Critchlow Labour College on Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.

“We need to work very hard so that the next 80 months are used to achieve out objectives. We recall the fate of the United Nations [UN] International Year for People of African Descent, which began on January 1, 2011 when the Government of the day converted that event into a ‘song and dance’ show and there is nothing to show for the International Year. This must not be the fate of the International Decade,” he said.

Last year, in his address at this very forum, President Granger had called for the establishment of a Plan of Action, which focuses on education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, particularly for young people. This challenge was taken up by the Committee, which subsequently, formed a core group called the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM). This body, which is tasked with coordinating the programmes, plans and events for IDPAD in Guyana, has completed a draft plan of action, which will be fine-tuned through workshops and consultations before its implementation.

The President said that since the inauguration of the Decade in 2015, almost 40 months have already elapsed and, therefore, the CCM has to be resolute and avoid deviating from fulfilling its mandate. The decade comes to an end on December 31, 2024. “The opportunity afforded by the Decade is unlikely to present itself again… Bickering seems to be a preoccupation of some people in this country. All I urge is that this is not the time for bickering.  This is not the time for brawling and breaking down. This is the time for organisation, for education and for implementation. This is a Decade for determination and our children and grandchildren will not forgive us if we fail them at this critical time,” he said.

In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a Resolution calling on member states to take steps to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance faced by people of African descent. The President said that Guyana has an obligation to take action and urged all stakeholders to carefully study and examine the contents of the CCM’s draft report.

“I urge the CCM not to ignore the validity of our history and, at the same time, I urge the CCM to ensure that the document it puts forward in its own name and the name of this international Decade are based on the best information. The Decade must be forward-looking. The plan should be about the future,” he said.

Expressing his Government’s support for the programme of activities for the Decade, the President informed that in July consideration for the new budget cycle began and noted that if financial declarations are to be made in support of the UN’s Declaration, then such an allocation have to be determined and finalised between the next 10 weeks. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Johnathan Adams, who is a member of the CCM, said, “We are responding to an international crisis and an international mandate to do something about our condition, which is a grim but unrecognised one. Today, we choose to trace on this grim canvas, a picture of hope, determination and success.”

He made reference to the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA)-International Development Bank (IDB) Survey, in which young people expressed opinions of being discriminated against, stigmatised, inequitable recipients of resources, excluded from participation in the wider society on the basis of race rather than lack of qualifications or gender, criminalised and racial profiled.

Mr. Adams informed that in the draft report four recommendations were made to achieve recognition for African Guyanese. Four education policies, eight education programmes and 16 educational projects were recommended. In terms of achieving justice, three education policies, three education programmes and 14 projects were recommended. Similarly, one educational policy, four programmes and six projects were recommended to ensure the achievement of sustainable development. There are also a number of recommendations that seek to address other areas of development.

Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) Representative to Guyana, Dr. William Adu-Krow said that the International Decade provides a solid framework for UN member states to join together with people of African descent and take effective measures for the implementation of a programme of activities aim at improving their lives.

He noted that in Guyana, people of African descent wear a symbol of resilience from the struggle for civil rights and Independence. He also informed that in October later this year, a UN working group of experts on people of African descent will be visiting Guyana at the Government’s request.

The Cuffy 250 Committee is made up of a group of Guyanese in the United States and Guyana, who came together in 2013 to observe the 250th anniversary of the Berbice Revolt, led by Cuffy, against the system of slavery. It is dedicated to encouraging socio-economic and cultural revitalisation within the African Guyanese community and the fostering of ethnic and racial equality in Guyana. This year, the forum was held under the theme “Repositioning African Guyanese for Justice, Recognition and Sustainable Development”.

Forbes Burnham and economic independence

– Statement of  His Excellency Brigadier David Granger President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana at a ceremony to commemorate the 33rd  death anniversary of President Forbes Burnham

Political  independence  ended  more than 350 years of colonial rule. It did not bring economic independence.

 

Political independence, for the Founder-leader, was hollow unless it was strengthened by the sinews and substance of economic independence.

 

Economic independence required eradicating poverty, eliminating inequalities, expanding employment, empowering the poor and reshaping the education system.

 

Our Founder-leader initiated a system of free education from nursery to university. He built community high schools, multilateral schools and technical institutes, opened the first campus of the University and established the Cyril Potter College of Education – all to provide the best education for the post-Independence generation.

Our Founder-leader encouraged self-reliance to stimulate economic independence and to generate employment by promoting agro-processing, small- and medium-sized enterprises to empower poor households and boosting village economies.

 

Our Founder-leader’s policy of economic independence resulted in the expansion and renovation of aerodromes, bridges, highways and stellings to ensure greater access to markets and to boost riverine, rural and hinterland agricultural production.

 

The   establishment   of   the   Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary   Agricultural   Development Authority and the enhancement of the Boeraserie, Black Bush Polder and Tapacuma Irrigation Projects measurably strengthened the country’s agrarian economy.

 

The Founder-leader’s policy of economic independence laid the bases for expanding and extending electricity, telephone, transportation and water supply services to previously un-served communities and to improve productivity and the people’s quality of life.

We, his heirs and successors, remember him with reverence. We recommit to continuing his efforts to achieve the goal of economic independence which he so passionately pursued.

Statement By His Excellency Carl B. Greenidge Acting President And Minister Of Foreign Affairs Of The Cooperative Republic

-IDPAD Summit 2018

Chair and Executives, IDPAD Summit 2018 Committee

  • Vincent Alexander, IDPADA- Guyana and Master of Ceremony
  • Melissa Varswyk, Chair, IDPAD 2018  Summit
  • Norman Ng-A-Qui, IDPAD Conference Committee

Comrade Ministers

  • Cathy Hughes – Minister of Telecommunications and
  • Dominic Gaskin – Minister of Business

Former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds

Heads of Diplomatic Agencies

Members of the heads Table

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Members of the Press

 

INTRODUCTION

The convening of the Summit on the International Decade of People of African Descent here in Georgetown, Guyana is an undertaking rich in symbolism and potential. I hope that the meeting will contribute meaningfully to improving the situation of People of African Descent within and beyond Guyana.

 

His Excellency President David Granger intended to join this distinguished gathering but, regrettably, the exigencies of State do not allow him to do. I can, however, assure you of his abiding interest in the proceedings and especially in the outcomes that you will chart for the way forward.

 

I am pleased, therefore, in the name of His Excellency and in my own, to extend a cordial welcome to you particularly to our distinguished guests and experts who will enrich the deliberations of the Conference. I trust that in your stay you will have an opportunity to savour some of the beauty of Guyana and to interface with its very welcoming people. I bid you a most enjoyable stay.

 

IDPAD

 

The International Decade for People of African Descent, 2015-2024, was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in resolution 68/237 adopted on December 23, 2013, under the  theme “People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice And Development”. This framework has provided an avenue within which to address the very real, urgent and unique challenges that people of African descent constantly face.

 

The IDPAD – Guyana Summit has aptly chosen as its theme, “where we are, where we ought to be, how we get there”. The theme is intended to facilitate realistic reflection on the challenges and opportunities that define the realities of peoples of African descent.

 

Such reflection should take account of the historical global legacy of wrongs as well as the moral debt that still demand redress. The ubiquitous impact and lasting consequences of the transatlantic slave trade have been widely acknowledged including by the United Nations. There has not as yet, however, been an equal and commensurate effort to fully acknowledge the moral debt or to make recompense for the indelible scar on humanity that the unmitigated horrors of slavery represent, especially by those that were the prime beneficiaries of the trade.

 

It bears mention that in this regard many recoil, unjustifiably I suggest, from a full interrogation of this legacy – mistakenly conflating efforts to achieve the wholeness necessary for more pronounced advancement with petty retribution. They insist that we should only look ahead rather than peer into the past. However, the call for both reckoning and reparation in monetary and non-monetary terms is one that cannot be ignored or forsaken on the altar of altruism. The call is premised on the principles of justice and ethics.

 

For this reason, CARICOM has committed to the pursuit of this matter and Guyana strongly enjoins those efforts, including the 10 Core Principles to guide efforts at reparation. Its pursuit, beyond all other considerations, is a lasting injunction to watchfulness — Lest We Forget. In actuality, the imperative of watchfulness in reversing the injustices and ignominies of the past is not in any respect misplaced as, increasingly, new forms of slavery and exploitation and some of the old are being visited upon people throughout the world before our very eyes. We forget at our peril.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

While watchfulness and reflection constitute core preoccupations, the theme rightfully enjoins consideration of positive endeavours to move to a more desirable situation – where we should be and how to get there. This is important. Chinua Achebe, the renowned Nigerian author and educator, best known for his masterpiece, “Things Fall Apart”, has posited that suffering should not be without a purpose. In his novel, “A Man of the People”, he advances the proposition that suffering should be creative and give birth to something good and lovely. By that I take it that he intends that it be put to that end.

 

People of African descent should turn their trials to that end — to harness the challenges faced as inspiration for greater achievement.  In this regard, I wish to commend the initiative and tenacity of the IDPAD Summit Committee in navigating the many and varied obstacles that accompanies the convening of a meeting such as this.

 

In a special sense, it is fitting that Guyana should have demonstrated leadership in the observance of the Decade by undertaking to host this meeting. Such leadership is consistent with the position Guyana has sought to occupy historically – the 1763 rebellion pre-Haiti revolution, for example – as well as with Guyana’s principled approach and commitment even on the occasion of the founding of our Republic:

 

  • At considerable political, diplomatic and economic cost to itself, Guyana demonstrated consistent support for the African Liberation Movement.

 

  • At a time when it was not popular so to do, President Burnham highlighted the plight of Africans and opposed the exploitation, inequality and indignity associated with colonial oppression.

 

  • Throughout the decades of independence struggles in African countries in the 1960’s to 1970’s, Guyana would have been a “safe harbor” for Africans in transit and in pursuit of freedom and self-determination in their respective countries.

 

  • Guyana’s position was principled – the political praxis being undergirded by the philosophical belief in the indivisible nature of human freedom.

 

  • Guyana could not be truly free while Southern Africa sweltered in an environment of callous oppression.

 

In sport, Guyana decreed that those who embraced the racist system of Apartheid would not be welcome on our shores.

Regrettably, many of struggles of bygone eras remain with us today. That we still grapple with many of these same issues bespeaks the importance of the framework provided by IDPAD and of this Conference. A weighty responsibility therefore devolves upon you as participants.

 

The Government of Guyana is committed to playing its part in this regard. President David Granger has committed to supporting the work of the IDPAD – G Committee in achieving the objectives of the Decade. The Government has already made good on the majority of the agreed commitments, including the approval of resources within the 2018 national budget for core undertakings identified by the Country Coordinating Mechanism of the IDPAD – G.

 

We commend the coordination that has taken place through the auspices of the Country Coordinating Mechanism to ensure focused, consistent and harmonious action to deliver on the objectives of the Decade in Guyana. The Government looks forward to building a sustainable partnership based on trust, meaningful engagement and a common commitment to the objectives of the Decade.

 

Distinguished Guests,

 

One of the primary objectives of the International Decade for People of African Descent is to promote, respect and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms for people of African descent, as recognized in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights – the 70th Anniversary of the signing of which we celebrate this year. The Decade is intended to promote a greater knowledge of and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies. Moreso, the agenda encourages the adoption and strengthening of national, regional and international legal frameworks in consonance with the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and to ensure their full and effective implementation.

 

The ancestors of current African people have, for many years, fought and championed the struggle for freedom, selfhood, respect, recognition and equality among humanity. Innumerable persons of African descent have shaped societies across the globe and while some are known and a few recognized, too often many of their stories go untold.

 

This brings to mind the old adage that until lions get their historians, the tale of the hunt will always favour the hunter.

 

The story of people of African descent ought to be told and, better told. Beyond the challenges and setbacks there are also innumerable stories of the people who have come through, who have indeed “made it”. The story of the people of African descent is very much a story of a people of indomitable will and incomparable resilience, who despite the challenges still stand proud for the contributions that they have made in building this land that has we become home. It is a story that is very much the story of Guyana but which is replicated throughout the Caribbean, in North America and across the globe.

For this reason, the Government of Guyana welcomes the observance of the Decade as an important pillar in our overall efforts to provide the good life for all Guyanese.

 

So, to those who might be tempted to take the low road in assuming that pride in one’s origin or the defence of rights is a zero sum game; or those who consider that in this venture there is somehow an inherent threat to national unity, I offer as a careful reminder or timely entreaty the words distilled through the wisdom of the ages – that those who in pursuit of their own rights and freedoms deny others their own, by their actions engender the demise of the enjoyment of the very rights and freedoms they seek.

 

In this vein, the objectives of the IDPAD as any other initiative that bring wholeness and healing to the peoples of our beloved country, rather than detracting from social cohesion will contribute to the consolidation, appreciation and preservation of our Guyanese culture. Guyana needs the contributions all its people of African descent. And all Guyanese of African descent in full accord with all other races and citizens of Guyana must truly live our national motto of – One People, One Nation, One Destiny.

 

On this basis, over the next four days, I am confident that your strong commitment, compassion and solidarity with people of African descent, which has occasioned this gathering, will fuel significant contributions for the realisation of the Summit’s objectives. There are critical imperatives to be pursued if all people of African descent are indeed to get to where they should be.

 

This IDPAD Summit should both impart knowledge and make a tangible and meaningful change to the challenges and adverse condition of People of African Descent worldwide, but more specifically in Guyana and the Caribbean. I understand that it is envisaged that this meeting will produce an outcome document with a template of concrete actions.

 

I trust that you will be able to tackle many of the pressing issues and offer practical solutions for addressing them – the need for changes in our educational system, especially for our boys, updating the curriculum to take account of the history of people of African descent, the situation with our youth and youth unemployment, the rising tide of the culture of violence of all types, health and lifestyles – in many instances what we’re eating is eating us, the question of ancestral lands, economic inclusion and empowerment, opportunities in the new economic landscape of Guyana, improving ties with Africa and stronger diasporic relations.

 

Excellencies,

 

Our national anthem with a suitable note of optimism on which I close:

 

Green land of Guyana, our heroes of yore,

Both bondsmen and free, laid their bones on your shore.

This soil so they hallowed, and from them are we,

All sons of one Mother, Guyana the free.

 

It is an honour for Guyana to host the IDPAD Summit 2018 and the Government of Guyana is happy to have partnered in making today’s meeting a reality.

 

In working towards our objectives, we can be inspired anew by the examples of our own heroes of yore. We build upon the legacy of the great sons and daughters of the soil of African descent: Cuffy – our national hero; LFS Burnham; Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow – trade unionism; Nana Culley – Political Activist; Walter Rodney; Ivan Van Sertima; Clive Lloyd; and Eddie Grant – through his songs of political protest, to name a few. [Ours is a legacy of resistance, enlightenment, building and restoration.]

 

To these must be added a new generation of outstanding Guyanese of Africans who continue to make their imprint on every walk of life, from Valerie Amos in the UK to those in Wakanda. I see that some of you appear to be perplexed by this reference.  That means that you are not cinema buffs.  The reference is an acknowledgment of the performance of two Guyanese, Ms. Letitia Wright and Shaunette Rene Wilson in the hugely successful movie “Blank Panther”, which is a landmark in very many ways.

There is much to celebrate, much to be done, much to offer and certainly much work ahead. I am confident that you are more than equal to the task and the IDPAD Guyana Summit will be a resounding success.
Thank you.

Call to action on business, health, education, ICT

— as curtain comes down on IDPAD Summit

AS the International Decade of People of African Descent (IDPAD) Summit 2018 came to an end Sunday, the body identified its plans for the future through a presentation of the strategies discussed during several roundtable sessions.
The final presentation took place at the Marriott Hotel on 11th March, when the experts who moderated the roundtable discussions reviewed the issues and solutions addressed in their groups.

The topics reported on were: Business and Finance; Health and Wellness; Education and Culture; Human Rights and Geopolitics and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Reporting on matters discussed in the Business and Finance work group, President of the Libra Management Group (LMG) in the U.S., Stacey Mollison, said that it is disappointing to see that the African community is not improving economically as rapidly as it should.
Exclusion from opportunities, limited access to capital, poor financial literacy and limited entrepreneurship development were only a few of the challenges she listed as factors still affecting the business and financial growth of Africans.

“We need to be able to move to the next step and we have to take responsibility for where we are and really start to passionately do something about it and stop waiting for somebody else to lead us out of that state,” Mollison encouraged.
Speaking directly to the anxiety surrounding Guyana’s imminent oil-and-gas industry, Mollison was careful to point out that Guyana is in need of support, now more than ever, as many African countries have not fared well in the industry.

“We don’t have a lot of positive models about what happens to the people of African descent in those communities, so Guyana is a place where we need to focus on how we change that negative narrative around oil coming in to our community and [Africans] not really being the beneficiaries of that,” she said, adding:

“This is an opportunity for us to rally around a country that, economically it hasn’t happened yet, there’s a lot of hope around the oil-and-gas industry, [but] we need resources, support, expertise, information, legal experts, we need people around the diaspora to start pouring into this country to help us to make better decisions.”

Mollison said, too, that financial literacy is an important aspect to economic growth that remains inadequate in the black community and went on to suggest that Africans create a funding cooperative through engagement with the diaspora.

“Engage people in the diaspora to [contribute] to a wealth-building fund, where we actually get people in the diaspora to pay into a fund that we can then leverage in our respected communities or across the world; and I think Guyana is a good place to start as a model,” she said.

In addition, Mollison highlighted the need for more efforts to be made towards access to capital; entrepreneurship training and development; financial literacy and a reversal of the large un-banked African population.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RyOne Incorporated, Ryan Stewart-Federick, listed limited access to infrastructure, poor ICT curriculums in schools and inadequate public support, as some of the factors that continue to hinder the progression of ICT in black communities.

Despite these challenges, the group’s moderator said that African communities have seen significant advancements and are capable of accomplishing even more, providing they receive the right amount of community support, community involvement, and government participation for the formulation of sustainable strategies.

Using Guyana as an example, Civil Rights Attorney-at-Law, Marcia Johnson-Blanco who moderated the Human Rights and Geopolitics working group, recommended that there be more awareness of human rights commissions functioning locally in each respective member state.

This, she said, would enable locals to engage their local organisations about the issues that affect them before the matters are presented the United Nations level for additional assistance.

Some other topics her group discussed were: the mapping of Human Rights resources; using conferences and summits to build networks; utilising UN International Days for conversations on human rights and better documentation of human rights violations in order to properly address them.

The Education and Culture group, in their discussions, addressed the effects of the formal education system on the black community, highlighting the need for countries to push politically for curriculum development that is “African-centred” through African education history.

It was emphasised, too, that before implementation, both African and non-African teachers need to be trained to be “culturally sensitive” about the materials they will transfer to children.

Other plans of action highlighted were: the rebuilding of African communities and cultures through African leadership; financial mentoring programmes; a registry for black business and programmes to teach respect for African women and girls.

Finally, redefining health from an African perspective, the Health and Wellness working group headed by Dr Ifetayo Adelaide, has decided to publish all of the principles and guidelines formulated at the summit; establish a Regional Herbal Registry and establish a taskforce to ensure the completion of these goals.

Source: Guyana Chronicle

Reparations calls grow louder, stronger

–as people of African descent meet to chart course of remainder of the decade

PEOPLE of African Descent from around the world gathered here yesterday to openly discuss and meaningfully contribute to the situations affecting the race at the 2018 Summit for the International Decade of People of African Descent (IDPAD).
The four-day summit opened at the Marriott Hotel, and saw breakout sessions and remarks being made on the topics of reparations, racism, human rights, health, justice, education, culture and more.

Delivering the opening remarks was Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge who said that the work of IDPAD presents an avenue through which very real and urgent challenges faced by people of African descent can be addressed.

Although the “historical global legacy of wrongs” meted out to Africans has been acknowledged by the United Nations, the minister said that there is yet to be a full acknowledgement of the moral debt incurred and provision of reparations.

Part of the audience yesterday at the opening here of the IDPAD Summit (Photos by Adrian Narine)

“They insist that we should only look ahead rather than peer into the past. However, the call for both reckoning and reparation, in monetary and non-monetary terms, is one that cannot be ignored or forsaken on the altar of altruism. The call is premised on the principles of justice and ethics,” Minister Greenidge said.

Noting that CARICOM is committed to the pursuit of these matters, he commended the IDPAD Summit Committee for taking the initiative to convene their meeting here, given that the organisation’s position is consistent with Guyana’s.
He said that granted that there are many age-old struggles yet to be overcome, the government of the day is committed to playing its part in achieving the objectives of the Decade.

Among the main objectives of the Decade, which runs from 2015 to 2024, are to:
* Promote respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by People of African Descent, as recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

* promote a greater knowledge of, and respect for, the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of People of African Descent to the development of societies; and

* adopt and strengthen national, regional and international legal frameworks according to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and to ensure their full and effective implementation.

In acknowledging those Guyanese of African Descent who have left an indelible mark on the world, among them Forbes Burnham, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, Walter Rodney, Ivan Van Sertima, Clive Lloyd and Eddy Grant, Minister Greenidge said:

“The ancestors of current African people have, for many years, fought and championed the struggle for freedom, selfhood, respect, recognition and equality among humanity.
“Innumerable persons of African descent have shaped societies across the globe. And while some are known and a few recognised, too often many of their stories go untold.”
For that matter, he feels that the story of the People of African Descent needs to be properly documented.

“The story of People of African Descent ought to be told, and better told. Beyond the challenges and setbacks, there are also innumerable stories of the people who have come through; who have indeed ‘made it’,” Minister Greenidge said.

ONLY FITTING
Meanwhile, Programme Manager of Culture and Community Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, Dr Hilary Brown commended the organisers for hosting the summit here, particularly since Guyana is the only country to date to have established a Country Coordinating Mechanism for People of African Descent.

She is hoping that even before the end of the decade, many of the challenges which still dog people of African descent, such as unequal access to education, employment, health and unequal treatment in the justice system, can be eradicated.

She also spoke against the modern-day slavery of migrants from West Africa being sold in slave markets in countries such as Libya, labelling it “an unacceptable repetition of history” being made possible only because the world has not yet reconciled with the ills of the past.
As such, she reiterated previous calls of the governments of the Caribbean community to pursue former colonial nations for reparations for native genocide, slavery and the trans-Atlantic trade.

“It is the view of CARICOM that success in the reparations claim would be a desirable and fitting outcome of the International Decade of People of African Descent,” Dr Brown said.
Adding his voice to the discourse, Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO)’s Dr William Adu-Krow said that since the 1990s, the organisation has taken notice of the vast inequity of health in the region which requires specific intervention to be addressed.

Apart from the many works it has since undertaken and completed, Dr Adu-Krow said that PAHO is committed to guiding and assisting African descendants of Guyana and other member states of the region particularly as it relates to health.

“A special regional health plan for African descendant youth was elaborated by African descendant youth from the region with PAHO’s technical support,” he said, adding:
“PAHO is committed to providing technical support in the implementation of this plan, and guiding Guyana to improve the well-being of our Afro-descent youth.”

Senior Human Rights Advisor to the United Nations, Dr Birgit Gerstenberg spoke on behalf of High Commissioner of Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, while the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) also demonstrated their backing of the conference through a letter from New York’s Ninth Congressional District Representative, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, which was read by CBC Associate, Guyanese-born Ms Marcia Johnson-Blanco.

The summit is being convened under the theme, ‘Where we are, Where we ought to be, How we get there’, and aims to eradicate the plight of African descendants through the implementation of possible solutions to issues affecting the race.

X