PPP hosts Night of Reflection for Cyril Belgrave

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Thursday held a “Night of Reflection” in memory of one its leaders, Cyril Belgrave, who died last week.

The auditorium of Freedom House was packed with party members and associates who gathered to reflect on decades of his invaluable contributions to not just the PPP and its struggles for freedom but also, and more importantly, the improvement of the lives of Guyanese.
One of the featured speakers was PPP’s Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali, who shared his close relationship with the party’s stalwart. He noted that he is among the fortunate younger members of the PPP who got the opportunity to work with and stand alongside party stalwarts like Belgrave.

According to Ali, when he was appointed as the Resource Person to the Depressed Community Needs Committee established by then President Bharrat Jagdeo and Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte, Belgrave was appointed by the party to guide him in the position. He added too that he also got the opportunity to work with Belgrave while he was a part of the technical personnel at the Finance Ministry.
“That was a great honour for me at the time and these are the things that help to shape not only myself but many of the younger comrades that are here today… So it was from those days that the party gave us this exposure and experience, and surrounded with the level of talents in these stalwarts and older comrades to ensure we were successful in what we do,” Ali posited.

He went on to recall Belgrave’s passion and commitment as a party leader, and more so, his drive to help develop depressed communities and the vulnerable. Ali told the gathering that Belgrave was a critical motivator in the establishment of The Little Red Village on the Essequibo Coast and was also significant in the development of the Mainstay Housing Project.

Additionally, Ali informed that he was the mastermind behind the “Black Tank Initiative” where he secured 500 water tanks from President Jagdeo to help poor Amerindian communities harness rainwater.
“This is the legend of the man, he was not only concentrated in Georgetown. Many persons know about his struggles here but in his work among the vulnerable and the poor, his reach was far and wide. Many places in Essequibo, squatting communities, he was the reason water was carried to those communities,” Ali stated.
Moreover, the PPP Presidential Candidate recalled that only about a month ago, despite battling his own challenges, Belgrave asked to see him to talk about party matters and things he thought were necessary for the PPP to address to ensure that it wins resoundingly at next year’s March 2 elections.
“For the struggles of Comrade Belgrave, for his commitment to this country, for his commitment to improving the lives of all Guyanese, all cross-section of Guyanese, we owe it to him to keep his memory alive and to reflect positively and to work towards a better Guyana every single day of our lives… So in his memory, we are all going to ensure we work hard to fulfil that dream and ensure that we do not disappoint him,” Ali stated.
Meanwhile, Jagdeo, who is PPP’s General Secretary and Opposition Leader, reflected on Belgrave’s journey as a trade unionist. He said that throughout Cheddi Jagan’s fight for freedom, Cyril Belgrave stood beside him.
According to Jagdeo, despite facing the brutality of the then regime, Belgrave never weakened in his struggles or to leave the party as many others did.
“In those dark days in Opposition, many people who seem stronger left the struggle, they left the party but Cyril Belgrave continued through it all. We’re proud to have him as one of our leaders who represented us at every level,” the General Secretary noted.
He continued that the PPP is fortunate to have had Belgrave as one of its leaders. In fact, Jagdeo recalled that one of his qualities that stood out and he never lost over the years was his pro-worker stance, which continued up until recently.
“Every time you talk to him, he’s looking to improve the lot of workers and the ordinary people. And that was very important to us. The PPP would not have been what it is today – an organisation that fights for Guyana, an organisation that doesn’t see people colour or anything of that sort – had we had a different set of leaders at the beginning.,” Jagdeo contended.
Among the other speakers at Thursday’s “Night of Reflection” were Carvil Duncan, Clement Rohee and Samuel Hinds.
Cyril Belgrave died on October 10, 2019, in New York, United States. He was a long-standing and loyal member and leader of the party dating back to the 1950s. He joined the trade union movement and became a well-respected trade unionist in the Guyana Labour Union, becoming its President in 1984.
In the 1960s, during the long strikes engineered to bring down the democratically-elected PPP Government, Belgrave and many stalwarts of the PPP, such as Shirley Edwards, Philomena Sahoye-Shury and others, at great sacrifice, guarded the Guyana Power Company and the wharves when they came under threat by the People’s National Congress.
Belgrave remained loyal to the People’s Progressive Party throughout his more than six decades of membership, right up to his passing.
He joined the Pioneer Youth League, the precursor to the Progressive Youth Organisation, in 1955. He joined the PPP and was elected repeatedly to the Central Committee of the party for over 50 years and was a Member of Parliament for over three decades (1976-2006) and a member of several parliamentary committees including the Public Accounts Committee. He also served on the Georgetown City Council from 1970-76.
As a patriot who fought for Guyana’s independence and the restoration of democracy, in 1992 Cyril Belgrave was given the Cacique Crown of Honour, the CCH by President Dr Cheddi Jagan.
In Belgrave’s honour, a Book of Condolence was opened at Freedom House.