Protestors earlier today took to the Square of the Revolution, Georgetown to protest the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s one-year anniversary in office. Demonstrators protested the alleged firing of state employees, the retaking of lands from citizens, and the imposition of mandatory vaccination requirements.
Several APNU+AFC Members of Parliament (MPs) were part of the action. MP Annette Ferguson bemoaned government’s ‘mandatory’ vaccination policy; saying that the regime imposed the requirement “without carrying out any proper assessment to determine who can take it immediately or not”.
She said that Guyana should follow Barbados’ approach to vaccination by consulting with citizens.
“Take a cue from your sister Caribbean leaders. They have started a public consultation, not imposing this vaccine… You got people with underlying medical issues. These are the things you must consider. Don’t impose on people. Guyana has now moved from a democratic State to a Dictator State under this illegitimate government,” Ferguson lamented.
Ferguson said that the APNU+AFC supports persons taking the vaccine “because it is their right” to take the jab. She maintained that mandatory vaccination is what her party is against.
She then cast more doubt on the over-200,000 Sputnik V vaccines procured from a Sheik earlier this year. The Opposition had objected to the shipment, saying that the Sheik was embroiled in a vaccine scandal with a Norwegian convict. The Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon demanded that the doses be authenticated by Sputnik V’s manufacturer, the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russian. Several days later, a top institute official issued a letter confirming the doses to be authentic, but Harmon then questioned whether the official was indeed an employee of Gamaleya.
The government this month implemented changes to its standard COVID-19 measures, with the addition of mandatory vaccination requirements for public transport operators, persons visiting ministries, gambling houses, and cinema patrons.
We cannot expect any better from these clowns. Perhaps, they see racism in it.