Caribbean News Now!

by Oscar Ramjeet

While controversial debate is ongoing in Guyana about the country's Head of Government and Head of State visiting the predominantly Afro village of Buxton on the East Coast of Demerara, distinguished Afro and Indo Guyanese who are in the US Diaspora are meeting to promote the country's culture and to bridge the dividing line between the two races.

Oscar Ramjeet is an attorney at law who practices extensively throughout the wider Caribbean

A Saturday, September 4, function in Throop Avenue, Brooklyn, New York has been termed "Symposium & Literary Hang,” which will feature a number of the country's outstanding sons in various fields including Eusi Kwayana (formerly Sydney King), an elder of Buxton, who was a minister of government in the 1953 Cheddi Jagan administration; Peter Kempadoo, distinguished author and poet, who now lives in the United Kingdom; Doris Harper-Wills, writer and composer and choreographer, a guiding light focused on teaching the history, culture of the Caribbean Diaspora; Joseph ‘Red’ Perreira, well known cricket commentator, who incidentally will be honoured at the function; former Information Officer and diplomat, Peter Halder, only to name a few.

The theme of the gathering is "Diversity in our Villages; Harmony in our Culture" and will feature a wide range of events including "The Village as Keeper of the Flame, the Church in the village community, selections in music; the rhythm of the village, reflections of the ancestry, the art of storytelling, recalling and reflecting, etc.

This "Hang" is a move to weld the Guyanese peoples and culture and it is very unfortunate that the African Cultural and Development Association (ACSA), the People's National Congress Reform (PNCR), Working People's Alliance on one part, are at loggerheads with the People's Progressive Party (Civic) on the other part trying to justify whether or not it was right for President Bharrat Jagdeo to visit Buxton and to hand out gifts to the village.

The PPPR in a statement said that ACDA and the opposition forces have demonstrated that all talk about power sharing by the opposition parties and personalities is fundamentally insincere. But ACDA said it would use the opportunity as a catalyst to mobilise people to struggle for constitutional changes to replace the Westminster winner take all system with shared governance.

Guyana's electoral system is proportional representation (PR) imposed by the British government in 1964 to defeat Jagan’s PPP because of his leftist policies, where the electorate votes for a party and not a candidate, and seats are allocated on the percentage of votes cast.

Be that as it may, it has always been my view that, in the light of the ongoing rift between Afro and Indo Guyanese, the only way there can be a togetherness to rebuild the country is a shared government. In fact, at the conclusion of the last general elections I strongly suggested this; and was supported by two well known and outstanding Guyanese who live in the United Kingdom, Sir Ronald Sanders, former diplomat and writer, and Dr Clement Seecharan, professor at the Metropolitan University, the author of several books.

The founder of the PPP, the late Dr Cheddi Jagan, had advocated shared governance and I am certain that there are a large number of PPPR supporters who would support such a move, but there are a few who are vehemently opposed to it. In fact, that is the view of the party. This is very unfortunate.

Guyana is going into another election next year, and there is no doubt that the PPPR presidential candidate would be the Head of Government because that party is poised to secure most of the votes at the elections and, as I understand it, the General Secretary of the party, Donald Ramoutar, will be chosen as the presidential candidate, instead of Ralph Ramkarran, SC, who in my view is the best person for that party to hold such high and esteemed office. I only hope that the delegates at the congress will see the light and name Ramkarran as its presidential candidate.

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