Dear Editor,
A letter writer, Clairmont Lye, noted that 80% of the chairmanship posts to recently appointed state boards are filled by non-Indo-Guyanese (‘In politics perception is reality,’ SN, July 30). That appears correct. From my calculations, there are roughly 299 appointees. Approximately 153 appointees have distinctly African-sounding names versus 97 appointees with Indian-sounding names. Four appointees have distinctly Portuguese-sounding names. There are 45 unknown appointees for whom we cannot make any guesses about their ethnicity based on their names. However, of those approximately 45 unknown appointees who are representatives of
various bodies, it appears that the opposition (PPP) has only 6 such representatives while the government appears to have the power to appoint 17 such appointees with another 7 such appointees coming from organizations under government control. Fifteen of the 45 unknowns appear to be entirely from civil society. Therefore, government still likely retains the ability to appoint approximately another 24 such board members. Those appointees with African-sounding names are 51% of the 299 total appointees while those with Indian-sounding names are 32%. If we use only those named, those with African sounding names comprise 60% of all appointees while those appointees with Indian sounding names constitute 38%.
In fairness, Mixed and Amerindian individuals tend to have more African-sounding names than they have Indian-sounding names. So, a percentage of the 153 appointees likely comprises Mixed and Amerindian individuals. However, I would be surprised if the percentage of Mixed and Amerindian individuals in those appointees is anywhere near the combined percentage of the general populace those two ethnic groups represent.
This list not only reflects the problem of ethnic domination when the percentages are compared to the general population percentages, it also reflects African-Indian (or Indian-African) domination over other minorities. The make-up of this list is perpetuating both problems and with another possible 24 appointments to be made by the government, the ethnic cleavage could be widened by decisions that fail to meet the public perception smell test. Even worse, appointing predominantly members of one group as the heads of these boards will further deepen that distrust.
Then there are the appointments to the most powerful and critical boards; Go-Invest, GuySuCo, Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), NDIA, Fisheries Advisory Committee, Guyana Fisheries Ltd, Guyana National Shipping Corporation, Bank of Guyana, The Privatisation Board, Guyana Oil Company Limited, Guyana Revenue Authority, NIS, Guyana Securities Council, Lottery Control Commission, Bureau of Statistics, NICIL and the National Procurement and Tender Administration. Of those 17 boards, I calculated 78 appointees with African-sounding names, 42 appointees with Indian-sounding names, 2 appointees with Portuguese sounding names and 28 unknown appointees, of which the government retains power over the appointment of the majority. The total number of possible appointees is 150. Those with African sounding names comprise 52% of that 150 number while those with Indian sounding names comprise 28%. If we use only those named, the African sounding names comprise 64% (more than double the national ethnic proportion of the African population) while the Indian sounding names comprise 34%.
This is a continuation of the kind of thinking that gave us the recent national awards ceremony list as well as the breach of the Cummingsburg Accord. These appointments are not reflective of the makeup of the ethnic fabric of the nation. This is troubling for a government that depended heavily on Mixed Race voters along with some Indian and Amerindian voters to win the recent election. These are the most fluid voters and they will swing away if this permeates. There are always going to be more than enough qualified and competent Guyanese of all races to fill 299 state board positions. The supply always outstrips the demand. This is why ethnic balance must be applied in making appointments. In parting, I would hope someone with access to the information publishes the ethnic composition of state boards under the PPP compared to this government. This is the kind of debate that can trigger change.
Yours faithfully,
M Maxwell
