AFC, APNU conspired to strangle ERC – PPP/C

The ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) last Friday accused the parliamentary opposition of conspiring to “strangle” the work of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), noting that it is extremely concerned with the fact that the ERC’s budget was cut to Gy$ 1 during consideration of the 2012 budget.

The party said it views the move by the opposition parliamentary parties to use their one-seat majority to cut the ERC’s budget as “unprovoked and malicious”.

“This action must be exposed for what it really is; a vicious act to prevent a constitutional commission from functioning as mandated to promote unity, harmony, and good relations among our people and to prevent ethnic division and ethnic discrimination.”

In a media release, the PPP said the two parties, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) mimicked previous attempts made by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), to “subvert the establishment of the ERC by not supporting a motion that had enjoyed the full support of the Committee of Appointments of which members of PNCR were a part of, and participated in drafting”.

The ruling party added that attempts by it to have the issue resolved under the Committee of Appointments chaired by the PPP/C at the time were fruitless.

“The Committee of Appointments chaired by the PPP/C was unable between 2007 and the end of the ninth Parliament to reach consensus with the PNCR on the list of entities to invite to submit their nominees for appointment to the ERC. This transpired after several meetings at the level of The Committee of Appointments, three tabled reports, one special report and four motions to the National Assembly,” the statement read. Additionally, the party lamented the move by then Opposition Leader Robert Corbin to move to the courts to “stop the work of the ERC by way of an ex-parte injunction which was dated and entered on June 1, 2011, mere months before the November 28, 2011 general and regional elections”.

The PPP/C stated that with the removal of the ERC’s budgetary allocation, “the only reasonable conclusion that one can make is that the APNU and the AFC have conspired to undermine the Constitution by the majority of one in order to remove one of the key complaint mechanisms available on issues of ethnic insecurities”. “This conspiracy must be exposed,” the PPP added.

According to the party, at no point during eight meetings during the budget talks with the parliamentary opposition and President Donald Ramotar were any issues or questions raised with regard to the functioning of the ERC. “In fact, it was never mentioned.The AFC attended three of these eight meetings and they did not raise any matter surrounding the ERC.” The statement continued: “Even when Mr Greenidge tabled the APNU motion to amend the budgetary allocations of the minister of finance, could one tell which agency was being reduced or collapsed. It was only on the floor during the debate of the estimates in the Committee of Supply on April 26 that the government and the public knew that the ERC was identified by them to be reduced to Gy$ 1.”

The ERC, the PPP said, is one of five constitutional rights commissions. The first members of the ERC were appointed in 2003 in compliance with new constitutional provisions. The party said that the entity, with its office and staff, has been “fully functioning and serving the Guyanese people from 2003 in accordance with their mandate to discourage and prohibit persons, institutions, political parties, and associates from indulging in, advocating, or promoting discriminatory practices on the grounds of ethnicity. The ERC has produced annual reports and special reports to the National Assembly again in accordance with the Constitution.”