Social Cohesion is defined as the willingness of members of a society to cooperate with each other in order to survive and prosper. It is a mechanism by which societal constructs reject exclusion and marginalization, and formulate for inclusionary dynamics strategies that create a sense of belonging, and promote as well trust between diverse groupings within communities.
At the inaugural sensitisation meeting for regional and municipal councillors of Upper Demerara-Berbice (Region 10), hosted by the ?Social Cohesion Ministry on May 4, Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton, posited that in order for Guyana to truly achieve solidarity, every individual must put aside their biases and embrace diversity.
Minister Norton asserted, “We know that [Social Cohesion] is a process… It’s going to take some time before we achieve it; but our vision is for a unified Guyana where our diversities – whether it is age, sex, political [affiliation], whatever it is – are embraced (and) we learn to accept them; where our conflicts are resolved; where networks and collaboration with stakeholders are strengthened… equity is promoted in our society, and the decision-making process results in equal opportunities and benefits to all of us in the society.”
The prerequisites of social cohesion is enshrined in Article 13 of the Constitution, which states that “the principal objective of the system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens and their organisations in the management and decision-making processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being”.
However, despite the Government’s ostensible implementation of the National Strategic Plan on Social Cohesion 2017-2021, the Administration’s policy-making decisions and strategies seem converse to these ideals, resulting in several protest actions being staged by disgruntled groups of citizens. Notably, the Amerindians protesting the imposition of what they deem an unacceptable CoI, which they claim was established clandestinely, with no prior consultation with Amerindian rights groups, including the representative NTC; as well as the sugar workers across the land, who are threatened with loss of jobs and the consequences that would ensue from such a unilateral decision, taken on the word of one man – Government advisor Clive Thomas, who is on record as having always advocated the closure of the sugar industry.
Various actions taken by the Granger-led coalition government suggest witch-hunting of a certain community, especially in the business sector, and of PPPC leaders and supporters.
All these do not bode well for social cohesion in Guyana, because social cohesion is not a contrived dynamic.
Many of the coalition government’s actions since assuming office are counter-productive to healing wounds and bridging divides in the nation; and everyday occurrences imposed and decisions made, regardless of the negative impacts to lives and the deterioration in lifestyles, divide rather than unite the people of this nation.
At grassroots level, Guyanese live among, and interact with, each other very well. The rich diversities of our various ethnic and cultural compositions meld in a unique acculturation, mainly in rural areas.
The Government should take heed of the traumas it is inflicting on the nation through its insensitive actions, which are negatively impacting entire communities; because, upon attaining government, it automatically assumed a mandate to treat all Guyanese with equity and justice, which is the foundation that will build social cohesion in the nation.
False, lofty, implausible promises and empty rhetoric eventually build distrust and widen rifts between people and within society at large; thus rendering it impossible to achieve the ideals of our national motto: “One People, One Nation, One Destiny.”
