ANYONE who puts aside the impulse of indulging in personal-attack-journalism for just a day will recognise that President Bharrat Jagdeo has made an enormous contribution to the development of this country. It is quite obvious that this is asking too much of the shock journalists and paid detractors, but thankfully, most Guyanese remain open-minded. Balanced political discourse, therefore, is still very much possible.

This is not a dissertation on President Jagdeo. That will come in time, and like most great leaders, history will absolve him. For now, the task is simply to point to some basic facts about the President’s record. Let us examine some of the notable accomplishments over the past decade.

Firstly, President Jagdeo came to office at a time when opposition forces for all practical purposes had successfully hounded Janet Jagan out of office. The trick of valorised ethnic politics was employed with deadly effect against Mrs. Jagan. The young President stepped up to the plate, unafraid of the enormous challenges that lay before him. In the face of considerable uncertainty, he took the oath of office and set about the task of governing this nation that a small bunch of political operatives have sworn to destroy. We should never forget that the same bunch now singing ‘We shall overcome’ were indeed the ones who pelted Jimmy Carter and attacked the Elections Commission building just a few years before Jagdeo became President.

Secondly, President Jagdeo has had to navigate through some of the most extraordinary security conditions in the history of the Caribbean. No leader, I repeat, no leader in the history of the Caribbean has ever faced the concatenation of security challenges this President has had to deal with. An unusual configuration of development produced massive insecurity in the country. These include, but are not restricted to: (1) A step level increase in small-arms and light-weapons proliferation in the region. The problem was also compounded because of Guyana’s vast unprotected borders, and the fact that we are next to Brazil, one of the largest small-arms proliferators in the world; (2) the effect of Plan Colombia had the effect of sealing off much of the traditional drug smuggling routes. The drug cartels had to shift away from the Panamanian region of Darien all the way through Northern Santander because a fairly tight security perimeter was established. Guyana became one small-state target, and the cartels found willing partners in this vast, forested country, something that the President would have to contend with from day one; (3) the merchants of ethnic politics decided that if they pushed Janet Jagan out of office through a politics of racialisation, why not try it with President Jagdeo. It proved to be a much steeper climb, not least because the Guyanese people liked the young President. We know what happened after that. For those of you who do not, I urge you to read the writings of my friend, Frederick Kissoon. Kissoon has thoroughly documented developments in Buxton and what happened after the jail break.

The point should not be lost here. President Jagdeo, very early in his tenure, faced a determined enemy that knew no limits. These challenges to the security of Guyana would make governing any other country in the Caribbean, perhaps with the exception of Haiti (and Grenada for a short period), child’s play.

Thirdly, since Jagdeo’s tenure, Guyana had continued to make steady economic progress, and this, despite the enormous challenges facing not only the rest of the Caribbean, but even the economic superpowers of the world. Dr Prem Misir and Marissa Lowden have already provided hard statistics about economic development in Guyana. Detractors nonetheless say that you can do anything with stats. So, instead, let us just look around.

You see a modernised airport; the Berbice Bridge; a much improved Demerara River Bridge (that does not float away in pieces); a magnificent stadium situated next to a fine hotel; large housing schemes where thousands of people are laying the foundations of long-term economic security; sports facilities sprouting up all across the country; the completion of the four-lane divided highway on the East Bank; more and more street lights — Vreed-en-Hoop to Parika is now on track, something I never thought I would see in my lifetime; traffic lights; great developments in health care, including complicated surgeries that few Guyanese ever thought would happen in Guyana in their lifetime; spanking new medical facilities in places like Linden, Diamond, Leonora, New Amsterdam; an all-weather road from Georgetown to Lethem; significant developments in sea defence and agricultural infrastructure — including an ultra-modern sugar factory at Skeldon; measurable improvements in the lives of Amerindians who live in the interior regions. And this is just what you can see with the naked eye.

Fourthly, President Jagdeo has developed a far-reaching vision about economic and social development based on a Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). Many commentators have attempted to knock this strategy down, but they are missing the point. They want empirical evidence of the success of the strategy, although the institutional capacities at the level of world order have not yet been put in place. Visionary leadership means having the courage to advance new ideas. President Jagdeo has gone beyond that. He has offered a new PARADIGM. The critics are rather more like old Aristotle and his followers, who, for nearly a thousand years, insisted that the earth is at the centre of the universe. You may recall Copernicus had to recant because the normal science of the day placed religious ideology ahead of science. Copernicus was eventually vindicated. Copenhagen is not the last stop in the world. The President has been rightfully recognised all over the world for his bold vision of simultaneously dealing with climate change and economic development.

Development is first and foremost about the Guyanese people. It is not just about macro-economic fundamentals, or about bridges and stadiums. The President himself will tell you about the sanctity of a people first, human security oriented development. This is why nothing moves him more than when he sees young people from all across this land moving ahead. This came through just recently, when the President addressed one hundred and twenty-two students graduating from overseas institutions at the National Cultural Centre. The students were urged to be bold in vision; to put aside the daily clatter and din of partisan politics; to serve with distinction, knowing that their efforts will not only advance their own careers, but also the greater good of this country. He called on them to serve, knowing that their efforts will help heal the sick, educate the children, support the elderly, nurture the infirm, build the roads and bridges, increase our food production and, above all, give our children the hope to keep on striving.

This President recognises that, indeed, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

No single article can do justice to the accomplishments of President Jagdeo. It must also be noted that the President himself has set an ambitious set of goals for himself and his administration. He is not content to sit around and worry about his legacy. Rather, he goes to work every day, working late into the night to deliver to this country. He is of the conviction that leadership goes beyond big declarations and grand ideological narratives. He is convinced that leadership is not about speeches, squares, and monuments. Rather, leadership is, above all, about vision and hard work.
The President is hard at work as I write this article. His work is not yet fully done. And of course, he has years more to go.