Holder, Cox criticise impromptu holiday Stabroek News February 22, 2001 A businessman and a consumer advocate have criticised the spontaneous declaration of a holiday on Monday by President Bharrat Jagdeo to celebrate Guyana's capture of its first world boxing title with the crowning of World Boxing Association welterweight champion Andrew `Sixhead' Lewis. Owner and Manager of Universal Bookstore Ovid Holder, while welcoming the feat, felt "the suddenness of the holiday being sprung on the nation... was a show of total disregard for the business community - the engine of growth..." He said a better approach would have been planning in advance a proper celebration on the day that Lewis would be returning home. He suggested the holiday would have been more apt for schools as a symbol of raising students' self-esteem and for them striving to reach the top. Holder said the private sector's engine is not something which can be made to stop and start at anyone's whims and fancies and expressed dismay at the seriousness of politicians who say that the sector is the engine of growth, particularly as it relates to pulling the country out of its economic morass. He said his store lost some $200,000 in sales on Monday, adding that he has instructed his staff to report for work despite any such occurrence again. The move by the President was "vote catching" and a "political gimmick", he asserted. Meanwhile, consumer rights advocate Eileen Cox thought it was "incredible" to declare a holiday that was not the product of planning and consultation, and moreso one for an already short week given Republic Day tomorrow. She noted that Guyana has more public holidays than any other country in the Caribbean, and regarded Monday's surprise holiday as a waste, and wondered whether consideration was given to daily-paid workers. She asked what of those persons in the interior who have little or no communication with the rest of Guyana and may not have known that Monday was a holiday. Contacted for his reaction, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry Manniram Prashad said the holiday was meant to show off "our national pride" for Guyana's momentous achievement. Prashad said given the imminence of the elections, citizens need a tension reliever. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today If you do not see the 'Guyana: Land of Six Peoples' drop-down menu on the left then please click here to enter through the front door which will give you additional options and information.