By Michelle Ann Joseph- Two weeks after President Irfaan Ali’s visit to Brooklyn, New York, that created a stir among Guyanese in the Brooklyn community and wider afield, Opposition Member of Parliament Roysdale Forde S.C visited with a different message and tone.
Whilst Ali’s visit was seen as political grandstanding, aimed at camouflaging his administration’s discriminatory practices in Guyana, Forde took an approach to highlight the problems of governance in Guyana and called on the diaspora to be equal partners in bringing about better governance and improvement in lives of Guyanese at home.
Appearing Saturday on the popular Brooklyn’s ‘Talk A D’ Town Radio’ Forde told the host, Kareen Lambert, a need for widespread support to overcome political challenges in Guyana, and the diaspora has a role to play. The senior counsel, an aspirant for the leadership of the People’s National Congress Islahat (PNCR), shared his vision to foster synergy and coalition home and abroad, among which includes the diaspora playing a crucial role in raising awareness about Guyana’s situation through lobbying efforts in the United States Congress.
Addressing fiscal policies under the Irfaan Ali administration, the Member of Parliament (MP) criticised the 2024 National Budget for the disproportionate allocation to infrastructure vis-à-vis human development. He noted in the GY$1.146 trillion budget, $666 million was allocated to infrastructure while neglecting public servants’ salaries. The MP contended financial decisions like these hinder the progress of the working class, as he advocated for civil actions, like strikes and picketing, to pressure the government for better working conditions.
The government continues to refuse to engage in collective bargaining with public servant and teachers and in last year imposed a 6.5 percent increase in wages and salary.
The discussion also touched on the disparities between different groups of workers, highlighting the government’s perceived favouritism towards certain sectors over others, such as the preferential treatment of sugar workers over teachers, which Forde linked to ethnic biases.
Forde also rubbished comparisons made between Guyana and Dubai, pointing out the equitable distribution of wealth in the latter, unlike in Guyana. Touching on social welfare issues Forde criticised the Ali government for discontinuing beneficial programmes from the A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) without suitable replacements, such as school meals and transportation initiatives.
The call to boycott Guyanese-owned business in Brooklyn
Appearing earlier in the week of the Caribbean Hits and Jams Radio, Forde was asked by host Dr Linda, to address the current call for boycotting Guyanese-owned businesses, who opened their doors to President Ali when he visited Brooklyn on April 19. Forde said he understands the emotions that stirred a call for boycott, outlining a litany of discrimination committed against the citizens by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP) government.
According to Forde, “I don’t believe that the call for the boycott was coming from any place of malice. It comes from the fact that in the society that we living, when we are in tuned in what is happening in Guyana, the positive discrimination, the pervasive abuse that people are suffering, the pervasive decisions made by the this government against the ordinary people of the country, the breakdown of the rule of law ,the killing of persons in the streets by the Police Force, the prosecution of people largely of African Guyanese descent; these are things that are disturbing and the response and the call for a boycott,” came from that place.
Going further, the lawyer accepted boycott is a legitimate tool used by political parties and civil rights movement to bring attention to their issues. He further stated, whilst he is not the one to say whether the boycott issue is legitimate, the question before us is whether the call “will ultimately lead to a resolution of the issue because the underlying issue is the fact that people feel the PPP is playing with our people and not leading in an equitable or fair way.”