APNU+AFC, WPA condemn disqualification of girl from national calypso competition

Last Updated on Sunday, 18 February 2024, 9:37 by Denis Chabrol

Ezeka Minty

In the face of a limited explanation by the Ministry of Education for its decision to disqualify an eight-year old girl from the national Mashramani Calypso Competition, the opposition said the move violates the child’s rights and accused the government of removing her because the song, ” “How a guh survive with 6.5” criticises government’s 6.5 percent salary increase.

Shadow Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Nima Flue-Bess said the opposition coalition of A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) condemned the decision to remove 8-year-old Ezeka Minty from the Mashramani Calypso Competition. The girl won the Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) leg of the competition but was disqualified from the national finals.

“The situation definitely is a violation of the child’s rights, as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The rights to rest, play, and participate in cultural and creative activities are indeed essential for a child’s well-being,” Ms Flue-Bess said in a statement.

She argued that the rules set for the competition, like the guidelines regarding the content of the calypso and the topics it can be based on, are meant to ensure fair and respectful participation for all children involved. “It’s concerning to hear that despite the child meeting all the necessary criteria and winning at the regional level, she was disqualified at the national level,” said Ms Flue-Bess who is also a teacher.

The allegations of dishonesty and political influence are troubling, she said, adding that it is important for such competitions to uphold fairness and integrity. She called on the Guyana government to address that issue to ensure that Minty and every other child receive fair opportunities and caring and thoughtful treatment, especially considering their hard work, dedication, and tender age.

Ms Flue-Bess said it is crucial to support and encourage children’s participation in cultural and creative activities, and it’s disheartening to hear when such opportunities are hindered unfairly and politicised. “I hope the situation can be resolved in a just and fair manner to ensure there is no repeat of such unprincipled and heartless practices,” she also said.

The Ministry of Education’s Allied Arts Unit has not given a specific explanation about the decision to disqualify the girl from further participation in the competition, only suggesting that the song did not comply with “established rules that have been in place for many years, specifically focusing on the appropriateness of items in relation to age groups.” The Unit said two items were rejected, and the respective schools were advised with transparent communication on the reasons behind the decisions.

The Allied Arts Unit said said the “intention is not to censor satirical content but to maintain age-appropriate standards and to teach commence with rules in line with the longstanding principles upheld by individuals associated with the competition.”

According to that Unit, the primary focus of the education system is to instill principles of excellence, respect, values, ethics, peace, harmony, and love. The Allied Arts Unit also asserted its unwavering commitment to positions of respect, civility, morals, and standards but did not explicitly state whether any of those were violated in Ms Minty’s song.

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA), which enjoys a close working relationship with the People’s National Congress Reform-led APNU aso said it “strongly condemns” the Ministry of Education’s decision on the grounds that the lyrics of her calypso do not fit the guidelines for songs in her age- group. “This explanation by the government insults the intelligence of Guyanese,” the WPA said, questioning since when children are disqualified from engaging in social and political, which constitutional provision bars schoolchildren from singing songs that comment on topical issues,

The WPA also asked why are children banned from singing songs with serious lyrics if they are permitted to sing songs which are considered “jam and wine”, and what moral or other forms of danger can singing such a calypso bring to the child in question and children in general, and if the calypso violated the “guidelines, why it was not disqualified during the preliminary stages of the competition. The WPA contended that  government’s action was an attack on children that sends a wrong message to them that they are free to sing “lewd songs but prohibited from singing songs with uplifting lyrics. “The government does not seem to care that it may have crushed the spirit of a child and
in the process dragged her into unwanted controversy. This is nothing short of  callousness on the government’s part. We have again sunk to a new low in Guyana—this time a child is the sacrificial lamb,” the party added.

“It is clear to the WPA that the government takes exception to the lyrics which critique the country’s high cost of living and the government’s meagre 6.5 percent wage increase to public servants. Such lyrics are a staple of the calypso art-form and fall within the category of calypso which serve as forms of socio-political rebuke,” the WPA added.

The WPA said the Ministry of Education’s decision is nothing short of government censorship that is reminiscent of the colonial era when calypsos were deemed subversive and banned by the authorities. The WPA called on all calypsonians to take stock of that development and raise their voices in protest. “Such action by a post-independence government is inconsistent with the values of independence and freedom. Censorship of art and culture is a tried and tested tactic of authoritarian government and governance,” the WPA added.

Both the PNC and PPP governments over the decades have been intolerant to music and satire about their decisions and personalities. Year-end satirical programmes have to be edited for perceived offensive segments or cleared by senior management or the political directorate before they are played on State radio and television. Guyanese songs about government’s policies have been banned. One of the most egregious instances had been back in 2013 when government minister, Robeson Benn had gone down to the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN) to prevent the winning calypso “God Don’t Sleep” from being played on radio on the basis that the lyrics were “abusive and slanderous and could not be proven in a court of law.”

WPA said the decision against Ms Minty is an attack on creative expression, a sacred right of all Guyanese and a frontal attack on an art-form that is central to African Guyanese, Guyanese and Caribbean cultural expression—calypso is the mother- music of the Anglophone Caribbean. That party said the action reeks of cultural insensitivity  from a party and government that has been repeatedly cited for ethno-cultural discrimination.

The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has since honoured the young girl with a trophy and other prizes.