THERE is a fresh breeze moving through the halls of Administration in Guyana. It began two Saturdays ago when, on the portico of the Public Buildings in Georgetown, and before thousands gathered on Brickdam in front of our impressive Seat of Government, our new president, David Granger, was sworn in.

Over the past week, we learnt more about him; about his humility; his belief that workers are the true pioneers of our independence; his faith which led him to drive himself to church the morning after his swearing in; and his love for the heavily ornamented music of the baroque period, particularly the music of Bach. The President is a military man, and his appreciation of this music genre must be in keeping with the discipline and orderliness that is a major part of his make-up.
From the beginning, he made it clear that he is the servant of all Guyanese, be they Christian or Hindu or Muslim, or whatever, of whatever ethnicity, of whatever political persuasion. All he is asking of them is that they work together for the good of the country, in unity and love, with no room for bitterness and envy.
For the smooth transition from the old government to the new one, the President assured everyone that there will be no witch-hunting among employees at State agencies, where competent functionaries will be retained in their positions, particularly at media entities where, traditionally, the heads are removed.
Over the past few days, citizens have been moving about Georgetown with a new confidence, an almost palpable air of optimism and expectancy, as if something wonderful is about to happen. This is evidenced in a new politeness extended to strangers on the streets, whereby they say hello and smile with each other. They move about malls and supermarkets, brimming with an obvious contentment, as if they had achieved some formerly elusive feat and were overjoyed at the result.
Perhaps the clean-up campaign that has gripped the capital city, after it had been engulfed for years in piles of garbage and premises heavily overgrown with vegetation, has something to do with this pervasive euphoria.
And to top it all off, there is the announcement from ExxonMobil that there is a strong possibility that we will soon find oil in commercial quantities.
After all. What more could we ask for! The new Head of State has cautioned that the celebrations must not go on and on. For there is much work to be done, as we all put our shoulders to the proverbial wheel and get about the serious business of nation building.
There was an inauguration ceremony for our new President at the National Stadium yesterday afternoon, with a mammoth crowd over-spilling the confines of the venue.
The cultural segment of the programme featured the evergreen Woodside Choir, with unlikely accompaniment by a steel band performing Bill Pilgrim’s ‘Let Us Cooperate’.
To echo the final words of the song, ‘Can we do it? Yes we can!’