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On what basis was Phillips’ pronouncement made?

May 17, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
I respond to certain aspects of Eric Phillips’ letter titled “The PNC in power will be just as bad for Guyana as the PPP”, in the Tuesday 12th edition of the Kaieteur News.
First of all I must concede that I hold no brief for the PNC nor PPP but I felt compelled to respond to what I’d term Phillips’ attempt to further mislead an entire body of people (Afro-Guyanese) for reasons known only to himself.

In the aforementioned letter Phillips posited that “Africans in particular have reached a stage where they do not see electoral politics as delivering economic, social or political justice for them as a race in Guyana”.
I would’ve had absolutely no problem whatsoever with this view, except, that on this occasion it is ascribed as being those of an entire ethnic grouping of which I am a part of, rather incorrectly.
On what basis was this pronouncement made?

How many Afro-Guyanese did Phillips interview in order to arrive at such a conclusion? How many Afro-Guyanese villages did Phillips visit in order to arrive at such a position on their behalf? Who authorised Phillips to speak on behalf of all Afro-Guyanese? I certainly did not! Until such questions can be answered then it has to be made clear that these views are those of Phillips’ and the Organisation he purports to represent. Certainly not mine! Neither was I interviewed by Ms Mc Dougall!

On another note, if according to Phillips, Afro-Guyanese have reached a stage where they do not see electoral politics as delivering economic, social or political justice for them as a race why would they want to embrace shared governance as is being postulated by himself and his ACDA outfit?
How could shared governance cause Afro-Guyanese to take a sudden u-turn in light of their obvious frustration with the political process as a whole, as Phillips might want us to believe?
Further, in an attempt to debunk Ralph Ramkarran’s argument Phillips incorrectly stated that “The Indian population at the time was 43%. Hence, it is logical to assume their numbers in the voters list was 43% of 492,369 or 211, 856 voters”.

No Eric, it is not logical to assume as such because it would require the entire Guyanese population casting their ballots at elections time. You see Eric, the 492,369 you quoted actually represent persons that would’ve been 18 years or older by a date specified by GECOM. Such a person also had to be a Guyanese citizen by birth, descent, naturalization, or a citizen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more, who would’ve also presented themselves for registration and provided the necessary documentation to do as such.

Hence, the Guyanese citizens by birth, descent or naturalization, resident in Guyana who would’ve been unable to fulfill the registration requirements as stipulated above, or even those that would’ve willfully neglected to do as such, or perhaps were disqualified as a result of the age requirement would not be counted in the 492,369 quoted by you. Even Indo-Guyanese and all!
While the 43% quoted is out of the entire Guyanese population, down to the smallest child at the time the census was conducted. This misrepresentation of figures by Phillips was not mistakenly done, as it is also being propagated by many of his cronies using the various media spheres in and outside of Guyana. I’ll say no further.

Self examination is good and the Afro-Guyanese population is suffering from the effects of poor leadership within. Prior to 1992 we were being taught to be self sufficient; with the restoration of democracy and subsequent thereof it was changed to one of state dependency. Our leaders, particularly those that purport to speak on our behalf, continue to make excuses for criminal behaviour by a few, and are always quick to point to inherent factors when confronted about their short-comings.
I would prefer that the next time someone purports to speak on my behalf; they at least consult me before doing so. And I’m yet to see Phillips in Albouystown! Neither was Gay Mc Dougall.
Jason Abdulla

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