Skip to main content

 

Dear Editor,

Guyanese in the Diaspora are very disturbed by the spate of firings (inclusive of those sent on forced leave) of staff based on ethnicity and political affiliation, since the new A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government came into power. Many Guyanese in the Diaspora, including those who did not support the APNU/AFC, welcomed the change in Administration, saying a change was needed to wake up the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) leadership from its slumber and arrogant behaviour. However, they are now worried about the direction taken by the Government which they feel is driven by witch hunting.

They describe the behaviour of the new regime as vindictive, spiteful and bent on revenge. When the Administration took charge after the May 11 General and Regional Elections, many Guyanese in the Diaspora, though not supportive of the APNU/AFC, believed that the coalition should be given a chance due to the arrogant behaviour of several officials of the PPP/C.  However, many are now having second thoughts about this second chance.

The Diaspora points to the firing and removal of staff and notes that some 90 per cent of those removed were of East Indians decent, many of whom were humiliated and belittled by Ministers during their removal from office. Those who have been supportive of the AFC wing of the coalition also expressed concern about the firing of Indians from their positions.  They expressed regret at the actions of the coalition and cannot understand why the AFC is supportive of such actions. PNC supporters in the Diaspora prefer not to comment on and seem supportive of the actions of their party in terminating the employment of Indians and PPP supporters of other races.  In a country where employment opportunities are limited, it will be difficult for these individuals to earn an income to maintain their families and provide housing for them.

The firing of Indians and PPP affiliates of other races brings back memories of the firing of Indians and PPP supporters after the PNC took office in December 1964. The PNC established an ethnic dictatorship that governed until October 1992.

Separately, at a trade show in Trinidad a week ago, I met several Guyanese supporters of the APNU+AFC coalition who also say they are worried about firings of staff based on racial and political affiliation and the sudden spike in violent crime. The Guyanese business men and women came to the trade show to solicit business.

The business people expressed anguish about the murderous rampage in the country and violent robberies, especially from those in the business community. According to them, the business community is targeted by bandits and not that much has been done, contrary to what was promised during the campaign. The business community is deeply worried about its safety and although they voted for the APNU+AFC coalition, because they were tired of the PPP and believed that change would be refreshing for business, conditions have worsened and there is no guarantee of security. People feel unsafe.

Some of them expressed regret for “the change” they voted for and are having second thoughts about voting out the PPP and replacing it with an Administration that is turning out to be different from what it promised. It is also a widespread sentiment that the majority of victims of robberies and other crimes are Indians and that the Government is not effective at combating crime.

 

Sincerely,

Vishnu Bisram

 

Share Button

Replies sorted oldest to newest

http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....-to-foreign-company/

Robert Persaud sells controversially acquired iRadio to foreign company

July 25, 2015 | By |
 Robert Persaud

Robert Persaud

Former Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud, has relinquished ownership of his controversially obtained radio iRadio 90.1 Love FM.
Persaud recently concluded a deal that was long in the making with the ANSA McAl-owned Guardian Media Group. The new iRadio owner has already begun advertising for a General Manager to run the operations. Persaud was one of several persons granted radio licences back in 2011 under “shady circumstances.”
The Guardian Media Limited (GML) is the media section of the Trinidad-based Company ANSA McAL. Headquartered at 22-24 St Vincent Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the media section’s subsidiaries operate under one publicly traded entity, the GML.
GML operates in the print, radio and television, with a dynamic portal offering news headlines on its site along with an e-paper, live streaming of its radio frequencies, and streaming content of all of the stations’ local content.
The media section spans Trinidad and Tobago and comprises three divisions: Cable News Channel 3; Trinidad Broadcasting Company (TBC Radio Network) and Trinidad Publishing Company (Guardian Newspapers).
The licence for the bandwidth that iRadio uses was initially granted to Telecor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc. whose Directors are listed as Persaud’s wife, Kamini Persaud, who is also the niece of former President Jagdeo and Ruth Baljit of New York.
Baljit is the sister of Robert Persaud and was at the time the sole owner of the company. She continues to reside in the United States.
Telecor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc. is a company that was incorporated by Attorney-at-Law, Jaya Manickchand, in 2009. The company was incorporated with 500,000 shares.
Days before it formally received its radio licence to operate five frequencies, Telecor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc. appointed four Directors to ensure that more than 51 per cent of the voting powers on the board would be Guyanese residing in Guyana.
This made the company fully compliant with the requirements under the Broadcast Act. But even before the company satisfied this criterion, its licence was already approved by the Guyana National Broadcast Authority (GNBA).
This was done on June 21, 2013.
However, Chairperson of the GNBA, Bibi Shadick, two days earlier, on June 19, 2013, had announced that 24 licences (Radio/TV/Cable) were ready to be handed out and all that remained for the operators to do was pay their fees. But Telecor had not satisfied the criterion for the voting rights residing in more than 50 per cent of the Directors’ resident in Guyana.
This meant that the GNBA had already approved the radio licence for Telecor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc., even before it became fully compliant with the requirements for Directors.
When Bharrat Jagdeo in 2011 approved Telecor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc, for a radio licence, the company had a sole shareholder in the person of Ruth Baljit, a Guyanese national who is also a US Citizen, Resident in the United States.
The Company Secretary was Omkarananda Lochan, the Permanent Secretary in Robert Persaud’s Natural Resources Ministry. He has since resigned.
The Broadcast Act requires that 51 per cent of the voting members of the Board of Directors be Guyanese nationals, residing locally.
This publication understands that the company had applied for a licence and when it was shortlisted, it was written to, to put its house in order.

Django

Firings unfair? Baap ray baap.

One bai name Aeshwar Deonarine is a biggie at the electricity company. Dis Aeshwar tek out 27 millian dallas fram de Petro-Caribe fund and put am in he own bank account. Dat is money fo pay dem rice millers and farmers, mostly coolie people.

Dis coolie bai Aeshwar de intend to deprive he mattie coolie of 27 millian dallas. Nat 27 dallas arr 27 thousand dallas.

How come de blackman PNC guvment nah fire Aeshwar rass? All dem do is ask de crook fo put de money back in de Petro-Caribe bag.

Dat is unfair.

FM

Add Reply

×
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×