Discrimination
Editorial
One hears complaints of discrimination in several areas including employment, the allocation of house lots, the granting of bank loans, the issuing of gun licences, the awarding of contracts that have been tendered for and so on. There can be no doubt that there is merit in some of these complaints. In human affairs where an element of personal discretion or judgment is involved in making a decision bias frequently creeps in, sometimes unconsciously. The real question is whether there is systematic bias in any of these areas, as has been alleged and what can be done about it. The PNC claims that there has been systematic bias in some areas, the government strenuously denies this. Ultimately, the issue can only be decided by a careful scrutiny of the facts, both in individual cases and the overall picture. At the individual level, if Mr X did not get a bank loan or a duty free concession was this because he did not have adequate security or did not qualify or was there bias. At the macro level, have more Indo Guyanese got house lots than Afro Guyanese and if so in what proportion and what is the reason for the difference. To be more than political rhetoric the case must be made in credible detail as it was once in the case of persons who lost their jobs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after 1992, though some of that would have been due to the new government's desire, in this and other areas, to redress the balance to some extent after inheriting a partly politicised public service from a government which had been in office for over 20 years. Have more Indian contractors been awarded jobs, have African contractors been excluded? Facts and figures are needed to make or unmake the case at the macro level. At the individual level, legal remedies are available. Article 149 of the Constitution provides as follows: "(1) Subject to the provisions of this article -- (a) no law shall make any provision that is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect; and (b) no person shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by any person acting by virtue of any written law or in the performance of the functions of any public office or any public authority. (2) In this article the expression "discriminatory" means affording different treatment to different persons attributable wholly or mainly to their respective descriptions by race, place of origin, political opinions, colour or creed whereby persons of one such description are subjected to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of another such description are not made subject or are accorded privileges or advantages which are not afforded to persons of another such description." If, therefore, any person believes that he or she has been unfairly discriminated against in the awarding of a government contract they can file a constitutional action. They would, it is true, have to pay a lawyer's fees, which may be substantial, and they would have to prove that there had been discrimination. But if enough was involved it would be worthwhile. There is also a Prevention of Discrimination Act passed in 1997. This deals primarily with discrimination in employment though it also applies to discrimination in the provision of goods, services and facilities. It makes any discrimination covered by the Act an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding $20,000. An employee can also sue for damages or other remedies. The employee must present a prima facie case of discrimination whereupon the burden of proof shifts to the respondent to disprove the allegations. So there are remedies available but they involve legal expense. What is needed to back this up is a simpler and less costly procedure providing quicker redress. The Special Select Committee on constitutional reform has approved a recommendation for the setting up of a Human Rights Commission which would include ethnic relations in its jurisdiction. This commission can readily investigate complaints of discrimination. Hopefully, its procedure will be informal so aggrieved persons can easily approach it. With that in place, persons who feel they have been discriminated against would be able to readily have their claim investigated. Government might also wish to respond to opposition claims by voluntarily providing available figures on the ethnic breakdown of the allocation of house lots, the awarding of contracts and so on. Housing Minister Shaik Baksh had denied that there was any breakdown and he can back this up by providing figures.
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