The mantra “emerging apartheid” is nothing but clutching at straws

Dear Editor,
The recurring mantra of “emerging apartheid” is nothing but propaganda used in a desperate effort to gain political traction by a drowning set of people clutching at straws. Those persons are themselves weak, and there is absolutely no evidence that can be peddled by those quixotic naysayers who are trying to let the world believe that our society is deeply divided.
In its five years in Government, APNU/AFC created a Ministry of Social Cohesion with the purpose of uniting Guyanese of all walks of life. In the end, nothing was achieved, but what was manifested was victimisation and violence by one race against another, instigated by leading politicians at West Coast Berbice in 2020 and at Mon Repos in 2022; and crime was generally perpetrated by one race against another.
None of these so-called leaders have beseeched their followers to keep the peace, and these followers are itching to be egged on, due to the spoils collected from plundering and their own lack of work ethics.
Having failed as a Government, some Opposition backers are now weeping and gnashing their teeth, crying apartheid when all other efforts have failed. They lament about inequity in awarding contracts. People have to understand that to prequalify for contracts, prospective contractors must have capital: tools, equipment and machinery, cash, lines of credit, and compliance certificates from GRA and NIS, among other prerequisites. This precludes many – some of whom cry foul – from bidding for large contracts of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The fact is that people of all races, not excluding Afro-Guyanese, secure contracts. Just fact check who gets contracts in Buxton, Linden etc.
In the social sphere, there is absolutely no evidence of emerging apartheid anywhere in Guyana. Young people, as well as adults of all races, for the most part mix and mingle without qualms. Be it a wake house, funeral, wedding, party, concert, carnival or sporting event, all races in Guyana co-exist without division. They support each other’s snackettes, diners, restaurants, shops and other businesses regardless of race, and generally do not boycott others for any collective reason. Further, they employ others as builders, masons, plumbers, electricians, welders etc., regardless of race, and can be found daily in bars and restaurants exchanging ideas, many times jovially, with each other.
In the political arena, there is a blend of people from all races — from the Central to the Regional to the Local Government tiers – governing and working together for the advancement of Guyana. This is also evident in the Public Service, teaching, nursing and other professions, where workers cooperate with each other without fear of victimisation due to race.
Editor, it was the Chairwoman of the PNC, who was also a Minister of Government, who boasted in November 2018 at Sophia that “…the only people a gon give wuk to is PNC …”. Where were the elements then, who are now crying emerging apartheid? Conveniently hibernating as usual – like what they did, or rather omitted to do, between March 3 and the end of July 2020 – when their accomplices were blatantly trying to rig the elections.
Contrast that mentality with what the PPP is doing for Guyanese. The part-time jobs initiative initiated by Vice President Jagdeo has provided thousands of jobs for young people of all races. The only qualification for eligibility is to be Guyanese.
Additionally, Guyanese in general are the beneficiaries of the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarships, through which they can study online and improve themselves. This sometimes is not accorded the appreciation it warrants. (I lived in Canada, where students are working at nights, many as security guards, to finance their studies).
Where is the emerging apartheid, being peddled by desperate wannabees who cannot accept blames, cannot apologise, try to govern through the back door, and dream of high offices which continue to elude them? They are no less than mischief-makers who want to “undermine this Government”.
It’s a figment of their imagination, like that of the Man of La Mancha — Don Quixote — who had delusions of grandeur. Do they really know what apartheid means? More likely, they are trying to stir up trouble after the unsuccessful five-month attempt at rigging the 2020 elections.
Editor, their mantra will not have the effect they desire. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, preached that if you tell a lie as often as possible, people will start to believe it. That was 80 years ago, when it was possible; not today. With social media and instant ubiquitous knowledge, people cannot be fooled the same way.
Come again, advocates of the mantra “emerging apartheid”, with a new mantra; try something else. The indisputable fact is that the People’s Progressive Party Civic Administration (PPP/C) has done more than the previous administration to empower African communities through its deliberate policies that target housing, land, jobs, health, and economic prosperity under the ‘One Guyana’ platform.
The irrevocable dispensation is that the PPPC, without practising apartheid in any shape or form, is uniting our country under the slogan ONE GUYANA, and will continue to do so indefinitely.

Thank you.
Karan Chand
Region 2 resident