The President was among those viewing the bands and their costumes at the final 'judging' ground at the National Park.

After passing through city streets, bands in both large and small categories did their last performances to Soca music for a panel of judges at the National Park.

The President, who arrived after lunch to view the colourful parade, said "I am amazed at the improvement of the quality of the floats this year. It has been a tremendous leap in terms of improvement."

Commenting on the large crowd that turned out to view the parade and offer their support to the bands, he noted the level of participation in spite of the tension in society.

"I am very happy that a lot of people took time out to celebrate a very important day in our country in spite of the difficulties we have had and in spite of the crime wave," he said, adding that he was aware of the "great apprehension" that exists among citizens, but was encouraged that they found time "to come out and celebrate in the true Guyanese style to enjoy themselves."

Prime Minister Sam Hinds, who also participated in the celebrations, noted the designs of the costumes and commended the creativity which in many cases portrayed Guyana's industrial sector.

"I think that it is a good thing to focus on our industries and depict our successes and the way we earn our living," he said.

There were 29 bands in this year's parade which celebrated under the theme `United Are We In Mash 2003'.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Ms. Gail Teixeira, hailed the improved bands and noted that many of them had improved also in numbers.

She said there were many bands which did not compete for prizes, but participated for the fun of it.

Commenting on the security situation and the tension among citizens, she said, "I have always had faith in Guyanese. We want unity and we want to be able to express that unity and Mash does that."

"It has been a safe day and we celebrated who we are - our past, present and future and most importantly, our cultural diversity", she added.

The Government allocates a sizable sum for the financing of Mashramani celebrations by State agencies and ministries.

This year more than $10M was set aside.

Government Ministers spread out to all the 10 administrative regions to attend flag-raising ceremonies and to join in the Mash celebrations. (GOVERNMENT INFORMATION AGENCY - GINA)