GUYANESE yesterday observed the nation’s 49th Independence Anniversary as a Sovereign State by officially inaugurating the 8th Executive President, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, MSS, at the Guyana National Stadium.

The venue was jammed to capacity, leaving an overspill of legions of Guyanese, with traffic congestion stretching along the East Bank Demerara (EBD) for miles as Guyanese gathered just to get a glimpse of the ‘Man of the Moment’, President David Granger.
NATIONAL AWARDS
There was pomp, grandeur, precision, military fanfare, more than 500 dancing youths, and an announcement of the long-suspended national awards ceremony, a bit of rain, and an atmosphere of patriotism and decorum befitting the proverbial ‘Changing of the Guard’ in the halls of executive power. (Please see related stories on page….)

Having received the blessings of the nation’s First Peoples, and obtaining the symbolic Presidential Key, President Granger delivered his address, one in which he called for a coming together to fight corruption, crime and poverty and “not each other.”

GREEDY FEW
Addressing the thousands of Guyanese lucky to be inside the Stadium, and the hundreds of thousands glued to the live broadcasts Online and via television and radio, Brigadier (rtd) Granger said frankly that Guyana was too much of an expansive, resource-rich country for its people to have to remain so poor.
In his usual charismatic articulation, President Granger was forceful in his reproach, and in pronouncing a new approach to doing things.
“There is no reason to be poor in such a bountiful country like Guyana,” he said, adding that there is enough of the proverbial pie to satisfy everyone’s needs.

In what can only be interpreted as a rebuke, President Granger said there is never enough to satisfy the greedy.
He said it is time “to put the people’s need before the greed of a few.”

REAL PROBLEMS
Independence Day, he said, opens a new chapter in the nation’s vista, one where the state of the nation requires leadership and vision.
The President used his address to announce the crafting of a national programme to move Guyana forward, saying that one will be crafted as work is resumed to engage major sections of society in crafting the national programme, including other political parties, trade unions, the private sector and civil society at large.

He said that with the General and Regional Elections behind us, an international stamp of approval has been affixed, democracy has been protected and preserved, and the Constitution of Guyana has been respected.

“We must now look to the future, and turn our efforts and energy not toward destroying one another.”
The President called for a national collaborative effort in ridding the nation of its real problems, that of crime, disease, ignorance and poverty.

FOREIGN POLICY ALERT
The President’s Inauguration Ceremony was attended by Barbadian Prime Minister, Mr Freundel Stuart, and Cuban Vice-President of the Council of Ministries, Mr Ulises Rosales del Toro, among a host of other high-level representatives of countries sharing diplomatic ties with Guyana, including the ABC countries, namely, the United States of America, Britain and Canada.
President Granger used his address to speak to his administration’s foreign policies, and its new approach on engaging some of its regional partners.
The former commander of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), now elected Head of State, reported to the nation that Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Carl Greenidge has already been charged with the tireless pursuit of ensuring all Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Guyanese, including many of its leaders, have, for a number of years, lamented the slow pace of implementation and adherence to several provisions in the treaty when it comes to their dealings with Guyanese nationals, including the free movement of people and skills.

The President committed to strengthening ties with CARICOM neighbours and the wider Caribbean. He said this was the reason the new administration, on its first day in office, met with the Secretary-General of CARICOM.

STRONG MESSAGE
The President said the administration wanted to send a strong message to its CARICOM counterparts.
On the matter of the country’s immediate neighbours, the President said Guyana, along with Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela have much to contribute to the security and stability of not only South America the continent, the success of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), but also the Organisation of American States (OAS).
On the domestic front, the President said Guyana’s independence observance activities come at a time when a number of crises pervade society, key among which is poverty.
“Guyana cannot become one nation if gross disparities persist,” he said, and was adamant that disparities cannot be allowed to persist between Guyana’s hinterland and its coast, or between the rich and the poor.
The President appealed for “co-operation over confrontation and national integration.”
He used the opportunity, through his address, to remind of his government’s commitment to making the motto a reality, that of One People, One Nation, One Destiny.
“We renew our commitment today to make Guyana one nation, we resolve to work together to forge one destiny for ourselves and for generations to come.”

VICISSITUDES
Meanwhile, former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Sir Shridath Ramphal, also Guyana’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs, called for a reconciliation among the people in order for Guyana to move forward, following the end of the recent bitterly-contested elections.
He implored, “We must not let the vicissitudes of politics and the discords inherent in the democratic process diminish our oneness… At moments of transition like this, it is the duty of all of us to work hard at destroying the myth of otherness and cultivating by conscious effort a reality of oneness that is our historical birthright.”

By Gary Eleazar