…with paternity claims
Four Eyewitness wonders why – in this climate of “race baiting” claims suffusing all discourses – Eric Philips of ACDA chose to categorical declare that the “Father of the Nation” HAS to be an “Afro-Guyanese”. What’s the point? Is it just to get a rise from the partisans of Cheddi Jagan who’ve made that claim for him?
But wasn’t it Eusi Kwayana who said we aren’t even a nation yet? Well…he actually said that some time ago, but have we sorted out this question since? “Nation” has to do with the identity of the people in a country and while we may’ve inherited a “state” at independence, we certainly didn’t inherit no nation. Even our independence motto just gave us an ASPIRATION we should work towards: “One Nation, One People, One destiny”. At the time of course, we were “The land of six peoples”.
So are we to have “six fathers of the nation” while we sort out this “national identity” question? And why is it only politicians who’re nominated? Stephen Campbell, Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham, Peter D’Aguiar. And how about John Carter for the “Mixed” and “Walter Raleigh” for the Whites? The latter did come here looking for El Dorado and lost his head (literally) in the fallout later.
But there are those that insist this “father of the nation” business is just the old paternalistic bias in action. What about a “mother of the nation”? Then even historians reject the term as a part of “history as the story of great men” project foisted by Carlyle. Aren’t the “great men” (or women) products of their times and formed more by events than anything? “Cometh the hour, cometh the man”, and all that?
And then there’s those that say “A pox on all those who push this sort of thinking” and insist that history is formed by ordinary people. This view is represented by no other than our historian- turned-President David Grander who, in a 2012 lecture, declared: “There’s no father of Independence, there’s no mother of the nation, father of the nation and I think we need to unlearn some of those myths. If there’s any paternity, that paternity has to be attributed to the working people of the Caribbean.”
So we would suggest to Phillips that rather than push this potentially “race baiting” ethnic “father of the nation” line, he acknowledges the struggle with their blood, sweat and tears of all working peoples of Guyana: African, Indian, Portuguese, Chinese, Mixed and even Whites. Yes…those imported Maltese, Germans and other Europeans also struggled and died.
Say no to “race baiting”!! Say yes to unity!
…with government contracts
The APNU/AFC government, after criticising the PPP for doling out contracts to its “own”, have now turned around and are doing the same. Just look at the list of the “big contracts” announced weekly. But that’s only the tip of a very large iceberg that’s floating in an ocean of possible ethnic and political corruption to get a piece of the $150B annual public procurement spending.
After all, what was the reason for jettisoning the old system and handing over procurement of pharmaceuticals to the regions? Isn’t this one of the reasons we also have a crisis in the supply of drugs today? Then there’s the requirement that that 20 per cent of all Government contracts will be awarded to small contractors yearly. Who decides which “small contractors” will get the nod? Shouldn’t there be a list of “pre-qualified ones?
And then look at the mono-ethnic composition of the National Tender Board. And don’t even suggest the “Bid Protest Committee” for justice.
With the same composition, that’ll be like trying your case in hell!
…with Venezuelan refugees
Some are afraid the Venezuelan refugees might be fifth columnists for a later Venezuelan claim to Essequibo. Good point. But rather than turning them away, why not settle them in Berbice?
