PRIME MINISTER Sam Hinds, described by Mr. Zulfikar Mustapha as “honest, dedicated, and who has stood the test of time”, recalled the difficult period immediately preceding elections of 1992, and heaped praises on “The Father and Mother of the Nation”, lauding them for all that they have accomplished for the Guyanese people, and stated that they are also father and mother of formal political parties in Guyana.
Speaking of the pre-1990’s and the struggle to bring an end to rigged elections, the Prime Minister said that it was one of the most important and better moments of his life when he received the call to work with Dr. Jagan and the PPP to bring the changes that have been evolving in the country since the PPP/C took office.
The PM referred to the campaign to belittle and even deny the development in the country since the assumption to Government by the PPP/C and said that even Guyanese who were formerly opposed to the PPP/C are highly congratulatory of the amazing changes that have transformed the Guyana of yesteryear to the extent where they often express their desire to return to Guyana after their retirement from their jobs in their homes in other lands.
Expressing his pleasure at this development, PM Hinds stressed that this was what Dr. Jagan stood for – to make things better in Guyana for the benefit of all Guyanese.
The PM said that Dr. Jagan’s followers gather each year at Babu John so that the reflections on Dr. Jagan would strengthen them to recommit to working along the guiding principles that defined his life’s work.
Alluding to impending elections this year, the PM said that, despite the talks of opposition coalition, the PPP/C’s track record in government would ensure the party’s victory at the upcoming polls.
He said that an integral component of the PPP governance is supporting and uniting the people to achieve common developmental goals, which is another essential objective of Dr. and Mrs. Jagan’s leadership of the nation. Their refusal to acknowledge racial divisions, according to PM Hinds, was evident in their choosing to marry each other against strong parental opposition from both sets of families. He urged Guyanese to recommit, in the spirit of the Jagans, to work like “Cheddi and Janet” to turn Guyana into “that great place that they worked for.”
The Prime Minister concluded with congratulations to President Bharrat Jagdeo on the great transformative changes in Guyana – not only physically, but also in the socio-economic context.