For far too long, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in Guyana has engaged in a campaign of targeted economic and social boycotts against African Guyanese-run organizations, businesses, civil society groups, athletes, and entertainers. This insidious behavior, will one day be viewed as a dark chapter in the nation’s history, but has persisted unabated since the early 2000s, when all Black members of the diplomatic corps and the government media fraternity were summarily dismissed.
The tactics employed by the PPP are not only discriminatory but also destructive, aimed at stifling dissent and eradicating voices of opposition. The list of victims is extensive and damning.
One need only look at the deliberate actions taken against nonprofits like IDPADA-G, left to wither on the vine due to funding cuts and bureaucratic obstacles deliberately placed in their path. Countless other NGOs face similar frustration and new laws have been passed requesting that foreign companies identify nonprofits to whom they offer financial support, no doubt so that the PPP can exert no-funding directives. African organizations are hampered at every turn by an administration more interested in domination of African people, than in genuine progress.
The PPP government boycotts extend even into the yasal realm, with Nigel Hughes’ law firm targeted for reprisal simply for daring to challenge the status quo. Critchlow Labour College, a bastion of education and empowerment for generations, continues to face relentless pressure and obstruction from the PPP, seeking to destroy it’s legacy and undermine its vital work.
But perhaps most egregious is the preferential treatment bestowed upon certain unions, notably the Sugar Workers Union, while others languish under the weight of vicious opposition by the government of Guyana. NDCs not aligned with PPP interests are systematically starved of resources, their ability to serve their communities undermined at every opportunity.
The casualties of the PPP’s vindictive agenda are not limited to institutions—they extend to individuals as well. Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen and Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond and many others saw their careers destroyed by a government unwilling to tolerate independence within the judiciary.
Media outlets like Village Voice News find themselves ostracized and marginalized, denied access to government advertising revenue as punishment for daring to report critically on the regime. And in the realm of culture and sports, the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports is alleged to maintain a blacklist of entertainers for whom they will fund no projects or prizes and a sweeping list of local athletes who happen to be Black and who receive no level of funding for training and preparation.
Meanwhile, the African Guyanese community is expected to continue supporting businesses and organizations that toe the PPP line, their loyalty demanded even as they are systematically disenfranchised and marginalized.
This pattern of behavior is an affront to the principles of democracy and equality. The PPP’s shameful legacy of targeted boycotts against African Guyanese entities must be exposed and condemned in the strongest possible terms. It is time for accountability, transparency, and justice for all Guyanese, regardless of ethnicity or political affiliation. Anything less is a betrayal of the ideals upon which our nation was founded.