PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo, last Thursday, acknowledged the tremendous contributions made to this country by the late Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr. Desrey Fox and former Deputy Premier, Mr. Brindley Benn.

He spoke of them at a press conference in Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown.

Alluding to the death of Dr. Fox, he said: “It was tragic news for us. She is a dear friend and colleague. We campaigned together; we worked together; we shared many of the ideals that we want for our country and it is a pity that, just when she was blossoming and making the kind of contribution that she prepared all her life to make to our country, she would pass away in such tragic circumstances.”

President Jagdeo said she had a “passion for everything that she did” particularly indigenous people and the preservation of their culture.

“And the pride with which she did so was infectious. It influenced and infected all of us in the Cabinet. So she will be missed,” he added.

President Jagdeo said he has asked for a full investigation as to the circumstances surrounding her passing.

“I am yet to see that report. I gather that an oral presentation was made to the Minister of Health. I am not satisfied with that. I need to see a comprehensive report and I have raised this at the Cabinet on Tuesday,” he disclosed.

The Head of State said: ”Once we examine that report, you would hear further from the Government because it is something that I want answered.”

President Jagdeo said: “I was told that she was suffering from some fractures and, in fact, (Roger) Luncheon and I were just talking about finding a vehicle for her when she was discharged. How you go from that to dying? Clearly there has to be some explanations from that assessment of fractures…nothing serious.”

Fox was involved in an automobile accident which occurred on the evening of December 8 just outside Camp Ayanganna on Thomas Lands, Georgetown.

She suffered back and head injuries and was admitted to Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where she succumbed just after 03:00 hrs a few days after.

About the death of Benn, President Jagdeo said the deceased made a tremendous contribution to the country and its development.

“…from the time we were struggling to create a Guyanese identity, freedom from the British and British colonial rule, he played an intense role, over decades, in trying to raise awareness among our people and to create a free country.”

“We will long remember these people,” he pledged.

Former Government Minister and one of the key leaders of the Guyanese independence movement, Benn died on December 11, at age 86.

SERVED

Father of current Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Mr. Robeson Benn, the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) awardee served in the capacity as Minister of Education, National Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources in the late 1950s and 1960s.

Influenced by the speeches of the late President Cheddi Jagan, about the occurrences in the bauxite industry and colonial rule, Benn joined the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and became integrally involved in politics.

He, subsequently, founded the Pioneer Youth League, a forerunner of the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO).

His party campaigning activities led him to New Amsterdam, Berbice, in 1953, when he was detained after the constitution was suspended.

After returning to Georgetown in 1956, Benn was elected Chairman of the PPP and Member of the Executive Committee and served as Parliamentary Representative for Essequibo Islands and the interior.

After the party contested and won the 1957 elections, the older Benn was appointed Minister of Community Development and Education.

He became Minister of Agriculture after the PPP contested and won the 1961 elections and established Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) in 1963.

Benn also had oversight functions for the establishment of the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary (MMA), Boerasirie, Tapacuma and Black Bush Polder drainage schemes.

Unrest in the early 1960s led to Benn’s detention by the British and imprisonment at Sibley Hall, Mazaruni Prison, for several months. He was released in 1965 and formed his own Working People’s Vanguard Party (WPVP).

However, in the late 1970s, he joined with Dr. Walter Rodney and others to form the Working People’s Alliance (WPA).

On the return of the PPP to government in 1992, Benn was, again, a Member of Parliament before being named Guyana High Commissioner to Canada, a post he held from 1993 to 1998.