Guyana’s attainment of its Republican status from Great Britain on February 23, 1970 remains an indelible part of this country’s history, and each year colourful celebrations and the ceremonial hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead are undertaken to remind everyone of its struggle to become an independent nation.
Over the past few days, we have seen spectacular children’s costume competitions, float parades, masquerade bands, and dancing in the streets to the accompaniment of steel pan music. This is in addition to the many calypso and chutney competitions being held across the country.
All Guyanese should be excited and proud that our nation is celebrating 49 years as a Republic. As expected, many citizens are engaged in debates and discussions about the level of progress we have made as a country. No doubt, we would all agree that our development could have been further accelerated. However, this should not cause us to lose sight of the many important achievements that were made over the past two decades or so.
Guyana is still a relatively young nation, and there is evidence that we have come a far way. Many of the developed countries took hundreds of years to achieve the level of development that they boast about, but this should not be an excuse for our leaders not to work hard enough to help our citizens achieve their dreams and aspirations. For example, while there remain many challenges, over the past two decades or so, there have been significant improvements in the delivery of education and health care, among other social services. The housing boom, which started and picked up pace under the then PPP/C Government, is regarded as a model in the Caricom region. At the time, owning a home was just a dream for many Guyanese, today this has become reality, as quite a few new housing schemes were opened up and existing ones were expanded and upgraded. In essence, home ownership was made much easier.
As was stated earlier, there is still a far way to go, as quite a number of Guyanese are still living below the poverty line. Many are still without suitable jobs etc. Continued efforts must therefore be made by our political leaders and other development partners in ensuring that more persons are provided with the opportunities to raise their standard of living. In this regard, there should be renewed efforts at generating wealth and creating jobs for every citizen, especially those that are skilled and qualified. In doing so, more investments and productive activities should be encouraged, as this would result in more opportunities being available.
With there being a great deal of uncertainty in relation to the current political situation here, it is hoped that the Coalition Government, more so the President, would prove to the nation that he is serious about obeying the decisions of the Court and following the requirements as laid out in the constitution regarding national elections. It is in the President’s power to have the situation resolved quickly, so as to avoid the country being in a constitutional crisis. If the President does not act in good faith, he will be judged harshly. He needs to call a date for national elections urgently.
After 49 years of attaining Republican status, it would be good if our leaders demonstrate to the world that we can once more campaign and conduct elections peacefully; and when the results are out, citizens can then continue working as one towards achieving our development objectives.
Our leaders must know that our children’s future cannot be realised if they walk separately and in different directions. This year’s celebrations should remind us that Mashramani is the symbolism of our oneness. It represents the desire of people of all races to cooperate; to sing, dance and revel together.
When we became a Republic, our aspiration was to crown our Independence with the status of full and complete nationhood, and to make our people sovereign. Republicanism must therefore be viewed as a historic continuity of all that our ancestors stood for, struggled against, and hoped to achieve. It is hoped that every Guyanese, especially those who seek to govern us, would continue to pool their resources and talents and work harder to further develop our communities and country as a whole.
