“The responsibility is now ours”,   Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said yesterday, at the launch of the 40th Republic Anniversary stamp.
At the event in the Philatelic section of the Georgetown Post Office Corporation, he used the analogy of a parent and child relationship to illustrate the idea of a nation making a transition to independence.Hinds expressed pleasure at participating in the event, positing that the issuing of the stamp is a significant event, since it was issued at a “turning point”.
He exhorted his listeners to use this stage to take note of other prominent issues, citing crime, behavior and our treatment of others.  Quoting 35th    President   of the United States, John F. Kennedy, he advised those present to: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, encouraged persons to buy stamps, which he described as “little bits of history”. Urging those present not to do away with traditional things, he spoke of the competition of the postal system with technology, citing e-mail as one example.
Anthony said that stamps play a very important role in our culture, citing the “Black Magenta, the rarest stamp, and until recently the most expensive, which was made in British Guiana, as one example of this cultural legacy. He reiterated the need to buy the stamps since it is one way to play a small part in celebrating the nation’s milestone.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the GPOC, Bishop Juan Edghill, described the stamps as a “simple but profound” method of preserving our culture. He stressed the need to preserve a county’s history as there must be a sense of understanding of where we come from. He lauded neighboring Brazil as one nation which is using its philatelic programme to preserve history. He added that a stamp for children is in progress, with partial funding from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Acting Post Master General of the GPOC, Mr. Henry Dundas, expressed profuse gratitude at the event, thanking the Ministry of Culture and the GPOC staff for their help in making the venture a success.
The stamps come in four designs and feature the Mashramani Logo with the theme for 2010, masquerade bands, Mashramani float parades and the Children’s Costume Parade.