Dear Editor,
Recently in the news, we saw an Afro-Guyanese mother of four underage children having the grave misfortune of her already dilapidated house collapsing under the weight of its occupants. The home has been irreparably damaged, in that the building is now structurally unsound and dangerous to live in, so this lady and her family are in a very bad state. She is now calling out for help from kind-hearted citizens who would be willing to help her in this time of need.
Soon after this situation occurred, I contacted a PNC friend of mine and inquired why the IDPADA-G couldn’t come to the woman’s rescue, to which this friend responded, “Why couldn’t Men on a Mission (MOM) do the job? Or, better still, why shouldn’t the Government be there to help?”
These are all nice-sounding evasive answers, but the fact of the matter is: Where is IDPADA-G in all of this? Isn’t that the purpose of this organization? Isn’t this the real purpose of an IDPADA-G; that is: to help people of colour?
So, in light of the foregoing question, I would like us to delve a little deeper into the operations of this organization.
IDPADA-G, interpreted The International Decade for Peoples of African Descent Assembly-Guyana, is an organization set up for the sole purpose of assisting or helping people of colour. It is a non-profit, limited liability organization that receives a hefty subvention from the public purse. To date, this organization has received over half a billion dollars in taxpayers’ money, but cannot show any tangible evidence of its existence in terms of giving or helping the unfortunate, only a ton of banal, convoluted blabbering from its political leader Vincent Alexander, and nothing else.
We would like to see this so-called organization running to the rescue of this Black Sister unto whom an unfortunate mishap has come. Situations like this one warrant the featured prominence of this organization; but sadly, it is not prominent.
What is interesting to note, however, is that this organization comes into public view when political matters are under scrutiny, such as IDPADA-G entering into a discussion formulated by The Opposition, “Resisting the emerging apartheid state in Guyana”, which calls into question the purpose of this organization. Who or what is IDPADA-G, we would ask; is it an extension of the PNC Party? Is IDPADA-G another of those organizations set up to draw down on funds from the state for political purposes? Is IDPADA-G a slush funded by taxpayers to enhance the work of a political grouping of persons? These are all searching questions I put to its leader, Vincent Alexander.
I close by informing Vincent Alexander that neither he nor the party he is part of is representative of The Black Race in Guyana. Let not the PNC or any of its surrogates fool themselves that they can speak on behalf of the race, or that they are in some way the protectorate of Black People; that is not going to happen. As the Black Race, we speak for ourselves, and not through an interpreter.
What Alexander and the PNC should know is that, in light of their shenanigans with monies earmarked for the race, we are most uncomfortable in having any one of them speak on our behalf. The present revelations speak in clarion tones as to what is their real intent, and what would befall us should any more disbursements come into their hands.
In this regard, I sound the alarm that is it known, if and when reparations become a reality, there would not — I repeat: there would not — be a Vincent Alexander or his party coming anywhere near as a recipient of disbursement of the proceeds. I rest my case!
Respectfully,
Neil Adams
