Nominees for ERC received from religious, cultural bodies

– report for appointing members adopted after months of consultations

The nominees for the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) have been received and adopted by the National Assembly after months of consultation between the parliamentary committee of appointments and various stakeholder bodies.
This is according to the 7th report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Appointments, which was chaired by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Chief Whip and Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira.

According to the report, various clusters of religious, cultural, and ethnic bodies were given a timeframe to come up with nominees. In fact, various extensions had to be granted. The deadline for submission of nominees had to be extended from September 20, 2022, as by October 18 only the Hindu and Indigenous bodies had completed the election process.
However, by January 18, 2023, nominees had been received from all clusters. They included Reverend Rodwell Porter (Christian bodies), Pandit Krishna Sharma (Hindu bodies), and Moeen-ul Hack (Islamic bodies).
Meanwhile, Norris Witter (labour movement bodies), Charles Ogle (private sector bodies), Dwayne Adams (youth bodies) and Chandrowtie Sarran (women bodies) were nominated to the committee.

When it comes to the cultural and ethnic organisations, Ashton Simon (Indigenous group), Deon Dick aka “Ras Khafra” (African group), and Neaz Subhan (Indian group) were also nominated to join the ERC.
“Thereafter, members considered and adopted the committee’s seventh report and motion on the appointment of members to the Ethnic Relations Commission and therefore, reports to the National Assembly that it has meaningfully consulted the entities in accordance with Article 212 B (1) (a) of the Constitution,” the report stated.

Under Article 212D of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, the ERC has 24 functions – one of which is a mandate to investigate complaints from citizens across the country where acts of alleged ethnic discrimination have been committed. Also, the Commission is mandated to enforce the Racial Hostility Act and the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act.

In budget 2023, the Ethnic Relations Commission as a constitutional agency was allocated $137.3 million. At the time, Finance Minister Singh had spoken about the functioning of these constitutional agencies, such as the Audit Office of Guyana and GECOM. But he had also assured that work is ongoing to get other commissions functional, such as the ERC and the Women and Gender Equality Commission.
“Notably, the consultative process with civil society organisations for nominations to the Ethnic Relations Commission and the Women and Gender Equality Commission has been completed and the approval of the National Assembly is anticipated shortly after this budget is adopted. The work to complete the Rights of the Child Commission and the Indigenous People’s Commission should be completed by mid-year,” he had said.