Stabroek News
May 27, 2001

Guyana has no place for perpetrators of race hate, religious intolerance and violence. As such those who succumb to these negative traits, must be identified and isolated, President Bharrat Jagdeo said.

Addressing the nation on the eve of the country's thirty-fifth independence anniversary at the flag-raising ceremony on Friday night, the President told Guyanese "...make no mistake. We must not be complacent. We must move away from competitively destructive politics. For there are always those who are weak and succumb to base instincts of race hate, religious intolerance and violence."

Noting that Guyanese had toiled to transform the country over the past decades, he said that the familiarity with the developments led people to take them for granted. But many who return after years overseas would remark on the progressive changes which include the transformation of pasture land to modern housing schemes, asphalted roads replacing mud dams and swamps becoming agricultural holdings.

Admitting that more could have been achieved and that much was left to be done, he said that in the past a combination of bad policies and negative external conditions conspired to remove Guyana from among the more developed countries in the Caribbean.

The past, he said "reveals our ability to bury differences and disagreements. It tells the story of our willingness to forego partisan political interests for the common good of our people."

In the past, he said "we have laboured earnestly to build the economies of others, now we must work for ourselves to secure our families and build our communities and our country.

Expressing a fear that "too many of our countrymen are losing the courage and pride that hard work brings," he said that "we need to recapture that spirit of labour."

Expressing optimism about the future, he said that he had great faith in the resolve of the people to move the country forward.

On the way forward, he said that "much of our thinking... is embodied in the National Development Strategy that has been tabled in Parliament. It is my hope the strategy will be nationally embraced."

For any vision to materialise, he said that the necessary environment needed to be created and a vital component of this environment was the adoption of a modern constitutional framework and legal infrastructure. The new constitution being fashioned at present is in keeping with the country's economic, social and political realities.

In fulfilling the wishes of the people in respect of governance, he said that the country took a quantum leap through representative democracy in which 25 members are now elected directly by constituencies to the National Assembly.

Noting that since independence, the world has changed in unimaginable ways, Jagdeo said that many rich nations were no longer generous with their wealth and this was leading to critical shortfalls in official donor assistance to poor countries. Historical ties and special compensatory trade terms founded on moral principles and cemented by long relationships were being abandoned and sacrificed.

To cope with changes, such as globlisation and shrinking preferential markets, he said, Guyana needed to restructure and make the traditional sectors, such as rice, sugar and bauxite more competitive. Diversifying the country's economic base, reorienting the tax system to attract investment, while at the same time preserving the revenue base and deepening regional and bilateral relations to advance economic and political interests must take place in the restructuring, he said.

But for these to be successful, he said, greater emphasis must be paid on education and skills development. To give children the life skills to meet the challenges of the future and provide them with opportunities, "we have to train more teachers, computerise our schools, pursue curricula reform, move towards universal secondary education and expand tertiary education." To function effectively in this new dispensation, he stressed the need for training and retraining and to aggressively pursue the diffusion of science and information technology in all sector to enhance productivity and create jobs.

In addition, he said that government must continue to make strategic investments in infrastructural development to improve the efficiency of the private sector and create jobs for young people. The construction of the Guyana/Brazil Road, development of a deep-water harbour, expansion of the electrification programme and greater competition in the telecommunications sector will help the private sector become more competitive, he said. However, these must be supported by social sector investment and this would be accelerated particularly in the housing drive, in enhancing and accessing health care, water and other social amenities. He added that the country must expand opportunities and create more facilities in sports and culture for young people to realise their potential.

In aspiring to achieve the goals, Jagdeo urged parents in the home, religious leaders and members of civil society to contribute a little more to create a more compassionate society.

The President's address was preceded by a cultural display with the National School of Dance performance stealing the spotlight in spite of a brief shower. Some parents rushed onto the tarmac to move their young children to shelter, but the older ones appeared to have enjoyed the rain.

Other performances included the Couchman Sisters, Code Red, First Born, the Guyana Police Force Band, Queen Yasmin, the Baha'i community and the West Ruimveldt Boys Choir.

It was noted that for the first time in many years, the crowd did not leave the National Park once the cultural presentation was finished, but stayed throughout the President's address and lustily applauded as the Golden Arrow Head was hoisted atop of the pole and fluttered in the midnight breeze. The Golden ArrowHead was hoisted at the National Park at the same time as soldiers of the Guyana Defence Force under the command of Lieutenant Andrew Pompey hoisted the flag at Mount Ayanganna.

Among the dignitaries, who included Prime Minister Sam Hinds, government ministers and members of the diplomatic community, was world welterweight boxing champion, Andrew `Sixhead' Lewis who arrived unannounced. But as his arrival became known he was greeted with a round of applause and was the only person to be greeted in such a manner.