Guyanese political activists are calling for further reform in the country’s political, economic, and educational systems, expressing concerns about the racial disparities Guyana’s African population faces, which reflect the many challenges the African diaspora has historically faced worldwide.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), a framework dedicated to combating racism, discrimination and xenophobia. Leaders from Guyana and other U.N. member states claim to support this blueprint in an effort to advance global equity and justice.
“As we strive to achieve the [Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)], we are conscious that the overarching objectives of poverty eradication, protecting our planet and building a peaceful world cannot be achieved without addressing inequality in all forms,” said Deputy Permanent Representative of Guyana to the U.N. Trishala Persaud at the DDPA’s 25th anniversary commemoration on Sept. 28.
In 2015, the DDPA established the First International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD) to encourage development and recognition for the African diaspora, mobilizing the international community to confront racial injustices and uplift the African community’s global contributions.
The Second IDPAD commenced in 2025 and runs through 2034, using the foundation set by its predecessor to continue bridging discriminatory gaps.
“For Guyana, equality and non-discrimination are not only fundamentals of international law, including human rights law, but essential to human dignity, justice and for political, social and economic development,” Persaud continued. “As a land of diverse peoples, Guyana attaches particular value to promoting social cohesion and eliminating discrimination in all its forms.”
Despite acknowledgement of the need for frameworks and goals like the DDPA and the SDGs, there is still much work to be done in Guyana to bridge racial disparities and narrow economic divides.
Guyana is one of the most racially diverse countries in South America; 39.8% of the population is of East Indian origin, 30% is of African descent, 19.9% is multiracial, 10.5% is indigenous, and 0.5% are classified as “other,” usually European or East Asian. Although the African diaspora comprises a large portion of the country’s population and has been the demographic inhabiting its borders for the longest time behind the indigenous nations, they still feel the residual disenfranchisement left behind by enslavement, especially economic inequalities.
Vincent Alexander, chairman of the IDPADA-G (International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana), feels strongly about the current conditions faced by Afro-Guyanese populations, saying they reflect the remnants of slavery, post-slavery, and post-independence.
“We have a society where there is systemic discrimination against the people of African descent, non-recognition of their status and a… disconnect in terms of what programs the government has to address the needs of the people of African descent,” Alexander told The Informer.
How Limited Economic Opportunity Stunts the Afro-Guyanese
Other Afro-Guyanese people are also trying to beat the odds and advocate for their community, like Dr. David Hinds, a member of A Partnership for Political Unity’s (ANPU) parliamentary team as a representative of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA). Hinds is outspoken about the need for reparations and reform throughout Guyana’s government, policies and infrastructure.
“Guyana’s problem is both a class problem and an ethnic problem,” Hinds told The Informer. “We need to do economic and social engineering to ensure that the wealth is properly distributed, and there is a huge absence of that.”
The South American country boasts the world’s fastest-growing economy, driven by a massive spike in offshore oil and gas production led by ExxonMobil and other partners. Its reserves are estimated at more than 11 million barrels, contributing to GDP growth from $5.17 billion in 2019 to $27.1 billion in 2025– a 424.18% increase. Guyana’s rapid development helped the country achieve high-income status in 2023, per the World Bank Group (WBG).
Even in such a booming economy, Guyanese people still face poverty. Different agencies, organizations and experts claim different poverty statistics for the country, using varying baselines and methods. According to the 2025 Multidimensional Poverty Index by the UN Development Programme, the average deprivation score experienced by impoverished communities is 39.3%. The Borgen Project states that roughly 43% of the country lives below the poverty line, and approximately 29% could be classified as extremely poor, with Indigenous Guyanese people being the most affected by economic instability.
“We should move toward looking at how we distribute resources and where in the economy various ethnic groups are located,” Hinds told The Informer. “We need an ethnic audit of policies… [because] the government is not informing itself about the ethnic distribution of wealth.”
Most of the Afro-Guyanese population comprises the public sector, working as teachers, nurses, law enforcement, soldiers and more. This is one of the least-paid sectors, even though its minimum wage recently increased to approximately $500 per month. Hinds would like to see an increase of wages to $1,500 monthly.
Hinds, alongside Alexander and IDPADA-G CEO Olive Sampson, want to see broadened pathways of access to procurement contracts for Afro-Guyanese populations as well. These contracts allow government ministries, public departments and state agencies to acquire services and goods such as construction, infrastructure development, machinery, medical supplies, sanitation, vehicle servicing, and more.
“Government work is conducted through contracts, and those contracts go to the [Indo-Guyanese] private sector,” Sampson told The Informer. “So, the government uses its institutions to funnel money back into its own community, underfunding and under-resourcing the public sector. [It’s] being destroyed.”
An analysis of the 2022 National Procurement and Tender Administration (NPTA) awards showed that, out of 288 contracts, only 10.4% went to businesses owned and operated by Afro-Guyanese people, who received 7.1% of the total dollar value from them. This is significantly lower than the Indo-Guyanese population, who received 56.9% of the awards and 72.8% of the total dollar value.
Many calling for reform want 30 to 40% of those contracts set aside for small contractors, – a group usually made up of the Afro-Guyanese population.
“If you set aside a certain percentage for small contractors, then you include Afro-Guyanese without excluding all other groups,” Hinds explained. “In trying to bring about ethnic equity… you are not discriminating… [and] you are closing the ethnic gap.”
Confidence, Pride Need Education, Mobilization to Flourish
Despite such a clear disparity in wealth distribution, mobilizing underserved communities in Guyana is difficult due to fear of consequences for public dissent. Alexander told The Informer that societies in the South American country are riddled with fear of protesting against these systems.
“People are not free to express their views because… if they speak out against the government, then they can see that being the end of their jobs,” said the IDPADA-G chairman. “On the other hand… people are being co-opted into the system, given contracts if they pledge public allegiance to the government.”
Sampson and Alexander criticize the Guyanese education system, claiming the history taught in schools does not include the struggle and contributions of the African diaspora when they arrived in the country in the 1620s. During this time period, before any other groups landed, the African population built the foundation of what is modern-day Guyana. Through immense physical labor, they built canals to protect the below-sea-level land from the ocean and improve drainage, as well as roads necessary for travel.
Instead, much of the history taught in schools begins in the early 20th century–– the period right before the country gained independence in 1966–– dismissing and erasing the vast impact the African diaspora had on Guyana’s future prosperity. This leaves present-day Afro-Guyanese populations unaware of how far back their lineages go, and of how crucial their ancestors were to the country’s success.
“The amount of work that was done was unimaginable today without machinery, but yet our young people don’t know that,” Sampson continued, “and they don’t have that opportunity to feel a sense of pride and ownership.”
Advancing and enriching education in Guyanese schools would greatly serve the Afro-Guyanese community, as would spreading awareness about their conditions to the rest of the African diaspora. A community that has historically been globally underserved, underrepresented and disenfranchised depends on one another for solidarity and support.
Sampson believes African American populations should understand and recognize the struggles faced by the diaspora in Guyana since they have similar struggles–– post-emancipation marginalization, systemic barriers to economic opportunity, and attempts by education systems to downplay and overlook their history.
“We are one community, one diaspora,” the IDPADA-G CEO told The Informer. “We need the support of the entire diaspora, particularly African Americans… who still have a lot of fire and the energy to fight. We need our young people to be inspired by what young people are doing across the United States.”
