Unite Guyana, now an amalgamation of the groups that called for the October 9-10 shutdown to protest the crime wave, is urging support for the Social Partners initiative which aims to get the government and PNC/R backing a raft of security proposals.
Unite Guyana now wants to bring the political parties together, unconditionally, to deal with the problems of the Guyanese society, and in particular to take on board the Social Partners’ `Crime Initiative’.
The group in a release issued yesterday said that it will in the coming week be monitoring the commitment of all parties involved to ensure speedy progress.
The groups, which called and supported the shutdown of businesses in Georgetown, parts of Berbice/Corentyne and other sections of the country last week have merged and will now be known by the name `Unite Guyana’, the release said.
Urging continued support if further action becomes necessary, Unite Guyana is inviting members of the public to post their comments or ideas at Unite Guyana, PO Box 101643, Georgetown, Guyana or e-mail uniteguyana@ yahoo.com.
Commending those who made the sacrifice of time and resources to support the shutdown, Unite Guyana said that despite the pressure and intimidation solid support on the issues of crime and the economy “affecting our lives today” came from all corners.
Unite Guyana said that these problems can only be solved by the political parties coming together, without pre-conditions, under the oversight of a non-political body.
According to the release, the sometimes differing messages in the advertisements came about because several groups, unknown to each other, were trying to achieve the same goal. Those groups merged into one on October 11.
Unite Guyana said it was cognisant of the fact that people were united behind the issues put forward and not behind a person or group of individuals.
The role of the group, the release said, cannot be seen to represent the interests of those who supported the shutdown, but to act as a coordinating and monitoring body for future action on issues that affect everyone.
As such Unite Guyana said it was irrelevant for those who were instrumental in getting the message out and coordinating support, to be known.
The release added that for too long individuals have governed “our actions” but the shutdown last Wednesday and Thursday changed that.
Unite Guyana says it wants the politicians to be responsible and to be held accountable to the public.