Nation’s future depends on wider political inclusiveness – Granger

as Guyana prepares with great pomp and grandeur to celebrate its 50th Independence anniversary, President David Granger reflected how far the country has come with regards to promoting national unity.

He was at the time addressing the National Assembly on Thursday. According to the Head of State, after gaining Independence in 1966, Guyana spent the last 50 years mending the social fabrics, promoting peace and repairing the economy.

“The first 50 years were about overcoming a hostile international economic environment. The next 50 years must be different. Let us use this special year to usher in an era of social peace, political collaboration and economic prosperity for this and all future generations,” he noted.

Granger recalled that after gaining Independence, Guyana has since been able to make rapid progress and substantial advances but not without struggle. He pointed out that Guyana was born a broken nation under a state of emergency, noting that social strife, political disunity and economic stagnation prevented the country from achieving its full potential.

“We must do better… Independence offered us the opportunity to work together, to heal our divisions and to promote reconciliation. Independence offered us a new beginning, an opportunity for national unity. But that national unity, however, has been elusive for most of the last five decades,” he said while adding that “the absence of national unity has impaired national development. It has triggered a continuous trickle of migration. It has led to political and economic fatigue.”

Nevertheless, the President outlined that the country now has a second chance to unite its people and assure them a good life. He added that the upcoming 50th Independence anniversary must not only be a time of reflection on the past, but an opportunity to plan for the future to ensure that generations could inherit a country that will allow them to enjoy a good life.

In this vein, President Granger remarked that the celebrations must be used by this generation to repair damage, restore trust and rebuild the bases of a ‘moral community.’ These will enable our people to co-exist and cooperate with each other.

Moreover, Granger posited that the nation’s future stability also depends on wider political inclusiveness: “The ethnic arithmetic of the past can only mean that a minority could be excluded from a government by a majority, however slim. Confrontation characterised the ‘old politics.’ Calculations of ethnic support determined election tactics. The ‘winner-takes-all’ jackpot became the prize of every election. The political landscape became a battlefield, not always of ideas, but of racial rivalry. Communal conflict hampered human development. Mr Speaker, that system belongs to the past. It is now dangerously dysfunctional.”

The President further underscored that his administration has initiated the Constitution reform process, with the aim of ensuring that the intended ‘inclusionary’ system is made to work. He noted that the reform process must be extended to involve consultations with citizens in their communities in all 10 Regions.

“Every eligible elector in this Republic must be given the chance to be heard so that our country could advance with a Constitution in which we all have confidence,” he said.

On this note, the Head of State called on the National Assembly to renew the Independence covenant with the Guyanese Nation. It must resolve to work together to reunite the Nation as one. He said the National Assembly will have to take the first steps on the long road to social cohesion, political inclusion and economic resilience.

“The National Assembly was born in this hallowed chamber where the instruments of Independence were handed over to the first Prime Minister of Independent Guyana. It is fitting for me to come back here today, to plead with this same National Assembly to sue the opportunity of Guyana’s Fiftieth anniversary to unite our people. Mr Speaker, we have a golden opportunity in our Golden Jubilee to build bridges that will lead us forward into the future as a unified nation” President Granger resonated.