This call was made by the Chairman of Region 3, Esau Dookie, during his address to the 37th Independence Flag Raising ceremony of the region last Sunday night.

“….if we are to fulfill the dreams of our predecessors and realize the full potential of this wonderful nation, thereby providing a happy life, then every Guyanese must recognize his/her contribution to nation building. Only then can we be truly proud of our independence. To this end, we must laud the initiatives contained in the communiqué signed by His Excellency, President Bharrat Jagdeo and the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Robert Corbin, thereby creating a solid foundation for the realization of genuine national unity,” Dookie declared.

He added: “…our achievements have been great. We have always been a proud people. We must tirelessly strive to work and build together. Our children deserve a better future. We must not fail them. Let us resolve to make Guyana a great peaceful nation.”

He said his region is set to continue the developmental process through an increase in the budgetary allocation with increased spending on drainage and irrigation and the social sector.

“At the regional level, Region 3 is once again poised to continue its rapid development with an increase in budgetary allocation, particularly, in terms of our current allocation. Increase spending will be done under drainage and irrigation, and the health and education sectors. It is anticipated that total rehabilitation will be done to all our school buildings. Of course, in the housing sector rapid development is evident, with the speeding up of the issuing of titles and the launching of Parfait/La harmony scheme-one of the largest schemes in the country,” the regional Chairman disclosed.

Recalling the long and hard struggle for national independence which was triumphed eventually 37 years ago, Dookie said “the once British colony emerged, after decades of political struggles led ostensibly by the premier political giant of the Caribbean, Dr. Cheddi Bharat Jagan, as a proud independent nation taking its rightful place in the world.”

He observed that despite the many obstacles presented to political leaders during the pre-colonial days by the local oppressors and colonial masters the battle for political independence was won and the stage set for the arduous battle for rapid economic and social independence. “But unfortunately, by then the abominable seed of division and race hate was firmly sown in the Guyanese political arena. That, aided by some self- seeking political opportunists led this potentially nation with talented people to destruction. In fact, by 1992, Guyana became the poorest and most heavily indebted country in this hemisphere, he added, pointing that during this period Guyana was characterized by a lack of democracy and accountability, dilapidated physical and social infrastructure, an inflation rate of over 100% and over 90% of revenue being used for debt servicing among others.

Dookie noted that since 1992 Guyana began on the road to recovery, with debt serving presently reduced to 40% of revenue, infrastructure significantly improved, balance of payments and fiscal deficits are below 10% of gross Domestic Product, interest rates cut by half and over the past eight years inflation has been in single digit.