ANOTHER death anniversary of Mr. Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham has come around and now is the time to reflect on his life. The Burnham Government had developed a national policy which envisaged Guyanese controlling the commanding heights of our economy by harnessing local resources for our benefit. It was this vision, bolstered by a dream, that led to the establishment of institutions such as the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST) which operates out of the University of Guyana (UG).
In 2012, I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Suresh Narine, who explained just how important IAST is to the development and advancement of our people.
Guyanese are encouraged and delighted about the ability of our fellow citizens and the potential of our natural resources, with the discovery that our home-grown passion fruit has anti-bacterial properties. This is good news for health care. Congratulations are in order to Professor Raymond Jagessar and his team for their hard work. Once again, Mr. Burnham’s belief that “Yes, we can” is made a reality.
It was this belief in our ability and desire to prove ourselves that put Guyana on the road of converting our rice into flour; our processed carambola (five-finger) entering the European market; the mass production of plantain chips, earlier condemned but are today in our supermarkets, though imported from Central America.
In the metropolitan countries the demonised rice flour is sold as Health Food. Gerber and Kellogg, major food brands, have converted rice into cereal for adults and baby foods.
Mr. Burnham’s advocacy for the use of our local herbs as staple tea was not met with much enthusiasm. Today, these “bush teas” are sold in the supermarkets, most, if not all with imported labels. Jamaica sells us Cerassie tea, which we call corilla; Britain and USA sell us lemongrass tea, all of which are growing in our backyards. The potential for local job opportunities has not escaped me.
Thirty years after his departure, Mr. Burnham’s dream lives on; as Guyanese we continue through the IAST to do research and development to harness our nation’s resources for the benefit of all.