Opposition Member of Parliament, Khemraj Ramjattan believes that the United States government is acting on information it received from the Opposition regarding discrimination, and is putting pressure on Government officials and the Government in general. 

Speaking at a bottom house meeting in Corentyne over the weekend, Mr. Ramjattan revealed that the Opposition recently met with the United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, where it raised issues of widespread discrimination against Afro and Indigenous Guyanese.

“Only the other day, I was with the Ambassador, indicating to her that this discrimination is happening on a rampant scale and is diminishing lives and dignity of especially afro-Guyanese and the indigenous people—and you know what she said to me and I can tell it here, she said that we understand everything that is happening in this country and we intend to do best as possible what we can do,” Ramjattan revealed.

He suspects, it is for that reason that the U.S has been closely monitoring some government officials.

He said the Opposition intends to also take its fight at a regional and international level to expose government discrimination.

He reasoned that should the government continue business as usual, people who feel left out would react and the opposition is trying to avoid such a scenario.

To further make his point on discrimination Mr. Ramjattan juxtapose that $666B infrastructure budget to the Public sector wage bill which is just over $80B annually.

He said for a selected few contractors to earn billions in profit, while the entire public service is not seeing half of that money, is discrimination on another level.

“That is the discrimination, that is the inequality, and when you tell the PPP this inside of the Parliament and other places, they don’t even want increase across the board salary and pensions. It is a very very important thing that you understand that this is discrimination at that level too,” Mr. Ramjattan stated.

Mr. Ramjattan also noted that the Opposition’s fight is to ensure that monies received from oil and gas are spent in a fair and equitable way.

“We find that the contractors in and around the PPP are minting money today, they are making so much they have to give a portion to Freedom House and to certain groupings of the PPP in the Berbice area, then they take their profit and then do the work and what is left cannot do the standard work that is required, it become sub-standard,” Mr. Ramjattan said.

The Opposition parties appear to be stepping into campaign mode ahead of next year’s general elections.

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