GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – President Dr Irfaan Ali has left here for an official visit to Ghana, where he will be conferred with the Global Africa Leadership Award for his “strong and transformational leadership” since taking office in August 2020
But Ali, who is due to return here on Monday, has left behind a controversy as several Afro-Guyanese organizations are describing him as a “racist” and are urging the Ghana-headquartered African Prosperity Network (APN) to rescind the “Global Africa Leadership Award.”
Ali has denied the allegations, and on Wednesday, the women parliamentarians of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) issued a statement accusing female opposition legislators of making “the vilest, most racist and sexist comments” in recent times.
“For an APN to bestow an award on a racist whose oppressive Government policy has caused untold suffering for Afro-Guyanese would cause one to question whether the motive of the APN is really to promote the prosperity of the African people as implied by the name of the organization,” theAfro-Guyanese organizations said in a January 17 letter to the APN.
They claim that human rights, inclusivity, and social justice are integral components of effective leadership, and a detailed examination of President Ali’s policies and actions in these areas and towards African Guyanese is necessary before endorsing the Global Africa Leadership Award.
But, before his departure on Wednesday for Ghana, where he is also expected to deliver the keynote address at the Presidential Dialogues session and participate in panel discussions at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues Summit of Heads of State and Business Leaders, President Ali said his accusers were the racists.
“Well, those people who made those comments are the racists. They have exposed themselves that they cannot hide from their fundamental philosophy, method of thinking, the mode of thinking, and all of that is captured in their sentiments,” he added.
A; I lead a political party that has majority support from the Indo-Guyanese population, while the People’s National Congress Reform-led opposition coalition of A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) is primarily supported by Afro-Guyanese.
The letter, which contains one signatory including that of former prime minister Hamilton Green, also told APN that President Ali’s government has opted to focus on enriching “mainly his Indian ethnic grouping” while excluding people of African descent from opportunities such as employment, access to state lands, and other Government resources.
“In an ethnically polarized society like Guyana, where people of African descent constitute 30 percent of the population, one would have expected the Government of President Ali to implement policies that are inclusive and considerate of all the ethnic compositions of Guyana,” they wrote.
But President Ali maintains that most Guyanese have called him personally to congratulate him. They know his desire for a unified Guyana “in which all the people of our country will benefit and prosper.”
Ali challenged the critics to tell the thousands of Afro-Guyanese in the sugar belt and bauxite sector that they were disadvantaged.
“We don’t make those investments in Guyana, whether it’s is Amerindian communities, African communities, or Indian communities based on how you look. We pick those investments based on the principle of developing all our people developing our country,” he added.
Chairman of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G), Vincent Alexander, said the formal demand for the award to be pulled back has been acknowledged by APN. Still, there has yet to be a response from the Ghanaian government.
Distancing IDPADA-G from the “very loose” description of Dr. Ali as a racist, Alexander sought to justify the call for the award to be rescinded on the grounds of bad faith by failing to keep three promises to meet with IDPADA-G and the subsequent withdrawal of funds, refusal to submit reports to the United Nations about Guyana’s progress in addressing issues being faced by people of African descent in Guyana.
He also listed the failure to recognize the constitutionally elected local leaders in African Guyanese communities such as Mocha-Arcadia and the government’s demolition of houses in Mocha that Afro-Guyanese had occupied.
“And you want people to say you are a nice guy and you’re for unity!”
He accused APN of granting the President the “Global Africa Leadership Award” as a ditch effort to be considered favorably for business opportunities in Guyana. He called on that organization to prove his eligibility for such recognition.
“It is so many African Guyanese, who to get a contract, have found it necessary to find a way to show praise as a basis for a contract, and it is not dissimilar to think that the Ghanaian, who is here who has so far not been successful in his business adventures, has now joined others in his quest to kick down the door and to benefit from the largesse of Guyana,” Alexander said.
and then 