Time to reflect on African Guyanese contributions to Guyana’s development – PM Phillips
Emancipation observances are an opportune time to reflect and give credence and respect to the contributions of the African Guyanese to the development of Guyana, Prime Minister (PM) Mark Phillips said.
As Guyana observes 187 years since the abolition of slavery, PM Phillips said it is an occasion to reflect on the substantial and important contribution Guyanese of African descent have made towards the development of Guyana.
Prime Minister Mark Phillips at the Hopetown, West Coast Berbice Soriee, Thursday
Guyanese of African descent made significant contributions towards the local Government system in Guyana today, and this should be recognised, he noted.
He made the remarks at the Hopetown, West Coast Berbice, Soriee to observe the Emancipation celebration on Thursday evening.
He pointed out that former slaves grouped together in a movement known as the Village Movement in Guyana, which started immediately upon emancipation on August 1.
“And by November 7, 1939, we had 83 freed men and women on a plantation known as North Cumberland. They purchased the plantation, and they named the village Victoria. And that was the first purchase in 1839. And then we had subsequent purchases, including here at Hometown and many other purchases between 1839 and 1857. And when we found this, by 1857, nearly 50 percent of the people who were living on the coastline of Guyana lived in villages. And many of those villages initially were purchased as part of the Village Movement, and then other villages were established as Guyana changed over time,” the prime minister explained.
As those villages changed, he pointed out, the then colonial Government passed an ordinance that formally established the local Government system in Guyana.
“Over years, you had the changes that led to the local Government system that we have today. So this is a major contribution of the people of African descent to the development of Guyana, our local Government system.”
PM Phillips said emancipation did not mean freedom, relaxation, and celebration only.
He noted that African Guyanese have made their mark in Guyana, not only in politics but in the areas of defence and security, public management, and business and education.
The event was organised by the Region Five Emancipation Committee through the Government of Guyana under the One Guyana initiative
