Appealing for changed narrative…
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo, on Tuesday, spoke of the need to tell the Guyanese story through the eyes of the pioneers. Speaking at the opening of a Roti Hut, Rituals Coffee House and Nestle Ice Cream Parlour, at Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, he said some sections of the media portray a very different picture of Guyana, focusing on negativity.

Congratulating the Nasir family on the $100M investment, the Head of State reminded that they started from very humble beginnings but, with hard work, made tremendous progress.

“And we need, in this country, to highlight these stories, the stories of success. If we do this more often, we can inspire a whole generation of young people to emulate these examples,” he remarked.

President Jagdeo added: “And, day after day, they are going to do the things and take the necessary actions that would transform our country into the place that we all wish it would be, a place in which we can all live comfortably, a place where we can have our material and other needs, spiritual as well, satisfied.”

He said the Nasir family is an example to all of Guyana and noted that, in Guyana, for a very long time, the entrepreneurial class, because of State policies, practically disappeared.

“…we are in the process of incubating new entrepreneurs, building from humble beginnings, like Naeem Nasir has done, a new generation of leaders in the business community who will grow, prosper and drive our country forward,” Mr. Jagdeo said.

“So, our country is much poorer and the task is magnified because of the absence of an entrepreneurial class that has had several years, decades of development.

“Like many other things in Guyana, we are still in the pioneering stage, so we are happy for your example, too,” President Jagdeo told Nasir.

He sad he observed that, of recent, there has been a tremendous burst of energy in Guyana. “And this energy and enthusiasm is being driven largely by Guyanese and that is the way it should be.”

President Jagdeo noted that there have been fairly large foreign investments, as well as a lot of small to medium size investments by Guyanese living here and some who live abroad coming back and creating the environment that builds on itself because of the demonstration effect.

He alluded to enterprises such as fast foods, banking services, housing schemes involving both private and public developers, entertainment facilities and business stores.

GREATER FOCUS

“It’s happening. There is a greater focus on filling a gap that had developed in our society for a long time. A gap of good quality services that our people are increasingly demanding and, what is more interesting about this burst of energy is that this is all taking place at a time when the world is in recession,” President Jagdeo said.

In his view: “I think we have turned a corner in our country. If we can continue with this energy and if we can maintain a propitious environment, not just a fiscal environment but a political environment, an environment that is friendly to people who create value in our society, then, I think, that there is no turning back for Guyana.

“We can continue to build more wealth here at the level of the country; at the individual family level we can continue to build wealth and we can expand the range of opportunities available to our workers, so they can stay here, earn a decent living and have a good life.”

President Jagdeo said the Nasir investment will be one that improves, in a small way, the quality of services available to people and “we have to aspire to providing these services at a very high level”.

“There are a whole range of other things, that are going to change the way we work, that we are currently implementing,” he announced.

He mentioned better access through fibre optic cable, information technology services and cheaper more reliable electricity.

“All of these things are being worked upon because they create the supporting environment for private sector growth,” President Jagdeo explained.

He continued: “But I wish that we all commit ourselves to change the narrative that the rest of the world hears about Guyana and sees about Guyana.

“The narrative that does not reflect this energy and enthusiasm and investment and the drive and the many wonderful  stories of our people on the ground.

“The sacrifices they make and how they are progressing. The thousands of people who, in the past several years now have a piece of land; who never had anything before; who have now gotten a loan and can build  a house. Many of them have a house, they have a job, they bought a car, all of these things are little success stories at the family level and, when you aggregate them, they create greater demand in the society and this is going to sustain us,” he posited.

President Jagdeo said some of the media tell a very different narrative of Guyana, only concerned with the negative.

“…shamelessly, they only focus on negative things. If you listen to them, if you look at their writing or their television programmes when they do analysis and all of these sorts of things, it is always this obsession with negativity and it’s not reflected. It’s never reflected in the communities across this country that I visit and the people that I interact with,” he lamented.

“Because, if that were true you wouldn’t have this investment here today because people can make money and they can do well in this country,” he maintained.

He said some people who left Guyana and come back have found this out.

“So we need to change that narrative. We need to tell the Guyanese story through the eyes of these pioneers and the people who are doing well and we need to magnify their stories and how hard they are working and how well they are doing.”

President Jagdeo said that can be replicated, with a thousand more Nasir families doing the same things and then the country will change.

PHOTO saved in Graphics file as Bakewell President

President Bharrat Jagdeo and CEO Naeem Nasir inspecting the $100M Roti Hut, Rituals Coffee House and  Nestle Ice Cream Parlour at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri on Tuesday afternoon.