Racial voting must be overcome ...if Guyana is to be developed -- German Parliamentarians By Robert Bazil Guyana Chronicle May 27, 2000 A GROUP of German Parliamentarians and politicians yesterday wrapped up a visit here stating that racial voting needs to be overcome by Guyanese if the country is to be developed. "Our impression is that it might be a good idea for the future of the country if you can overcome, for example, during elections, voting along the racial and ethnical alliance," Mr Klaus-Jurgen Hedrich, head of the delegation told a press conference Thursday at Le Meridien, Pegasus. "We believe that it is important for the development of the democracy in the country that the relationship between the different ethnic groups should improve," he said. The group comprises members of the Parliamentary Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development. Reiterating that Guyana is a multi-ethnic society, Hedrich urged Guyanese to make use of the advantage of multi-ethnicity because all the different groups can contribute to the future of the country. But it is necessary to improve the climate in the country into one which gives all the different groups a chance to contribute to the future of the country, he said. He added that Guyana is on a comparative good path to achieving this. Hedrich said that the purpose for the group coming to Guyana was not only to access the bilateral cooperation between the two nations, but to look at the cooperation between this country and the European Union. "Germany has put in a lot of money and we want to know what the European Union is doing with the German contribution to the European Fund," he said. Germany is a member of the Caribbean Development Bank and the World Bank and is contributing a substantial amount of money to these institutions. Another member of the delegation, Dr Angelika Koester-Lossack said that a country that is blessed with a large number of natural resources especially the tropical rainforest, should think and work out how to use these resources. She feels that the programme for sustainable resources which Germany is funding in Guyana, is not only important in short run but also in the long run. On the voting patterns, Dr Koester-Lossack expressed the hope that Guyana would be able to show to the world that unity can exit based on diversity. And Parliamentarian Ms Brigitte Adler hoped that in the upcoming elections, the different ethnic groups will get closer to each other and work closely together. She urged the different groups to be aware that together they are working for the common interest of the country so that the living standards of the population are protected and safeguarded. "In a democracy, the Government and the Opposition should be cooperating and working together and listening to each other so that there wouldn't be any destructive criticism after the election," she said. The group, which goes next to Brazil, arrived here Monday to gather firsthand information of what is going on in Guyana. Members met CARICOM Secretary-General, Mr Edwin Carrington and members of civil society. They also travelled to Bartica. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today