I WOULD like to begin this viewpoint by congratulating our cricketers who have once again done our country proud by beating Barbados to win the third Red Stripe Bowl competition. This is indeed a remarkable achievement. I wish to congratulate the entire team, in particular skipper Shivnarine Chanderpal and Man-of-the-Match Lennox Cush, for having done such a wonderful job to bring victory to Guyana in a match that could have gone either way.
There can be no doubt as to the tremendous potential of Guyanese to excel in sports, as, indeed, in any other discipline. Within recent years we have produced world champions in the field of boxing. In the area of academics, our students have been excelling at the regional CXC examinations, gaining the distinction of the overall best thrice over the past six years or so.
The point I am seeking to make is that Guyanese should not be taken for granted, as some people want to do. Our records will show that we are capable of doing as good as, if not better than, anyone else from any part of the world. We have had, and continue to have, Guyanese holding senior positions in quite a number of regional and international organizations.
The Guyanese potential to excel is not only unquestionable, but also unlimited, given the right environment. This is why we must consistently strive to create that environment that is conducive to our people developing to the best of their potential. Our past experience has demonstrated that when there is a breakdown of institutional norms, the entire society is made to suffer.
One cannot help in this regard but recall that dreaded period in our history when there was a destruction of all the key institutions that govern national life, including the political, economic, educational and social institutions under the doctrine of "party paramountcy." The destruction of the educational institution was particularly severe, resulting in a virtual stultification of our intellectual capacity, the effects of which are being felt onto this day.
Our students who in the 1960's were ahead of their Caribbean counterparts were reduced to the bottom of the performance ladder by the end of the PNC regime in 1992. This is quite a shame on those who occupied the seat of power during that period!
Today, the performance gap between our Guyanese students and their regional counterparts have been considerably narrowed. As I mentioned earlier, our students for the first time since the examinations were introduced some 30 years ago have won the overall best performance on three occasions, significantly since the assumption of office of the current PPP/Civic Administration in October of 1992.
These achievements in the area of sports and academia, I wish to respectfully submit, are not chance occurrences as some may wish to suggest. As I mentioned before, there is a positive correlation between democracy and good performance. Without democracy, there can be neither economic growth nor development, which in turn could have disastrous consequences for the realization of the full potential of the nation as a whole as our past experience so tellingly indicated.
The return of democracy has, without a doubt, opened up new windows of opportunity for the people of Guyana. Life for the vast majority of people has improved and prosperity once again is returning to the land. For the most part, the Millennium Development Goals to which Guyana is committed have either been realized or are in the process of being realized. The reduction of poverty is high on the development agenda of the current administration.
May I in closing take this opportunity to wish all Guyanese, in particular my Hindu brothers and sisters, a happy Diwali. May the brightness of Diwali radiate eternally in the lives of us all!