– Minister Nadir delivers keynote address at opening ceremony
MINISTER Manzoor Nadir who flew up from Guyana for the event and High Commissioner Harry Narine Nawbatt jointly cut the ceremonial ribbon to declare the festival open at noon on a warm sunny day (the festival is held in June as May is usually too cold for an outdoor festival).   This is the 16th year of the festival and marks the 45th independence Anniversary for Guyana. Just prior to the ribbon cutting, Minister Nadir delivered the keynote address.  One of the first things the Minister did was to acknowledge the Sawh family’s contribution to the country, and the ultimate sacrifice of the late Minister of Agriculture Satyadeow Sawh, who is to be posthumously awarded the Cacique Crown of Honour, the country’s third highest national award.

The minister spoke of the close ties between Guyana and Canada and recalled how during the 2005 floods, Scarborough MP Jim Karygiannis, who has been a consistent friend and supporter of the festival, led a relief team from Canada to assist in Guyana.

He expressed the appreciation of the Guyana government to the diaspora communities whose remittances are estimated at $400M annually, a considerable sum in proportion to Guyana’ GDP.  The minister conveyed greetings and congratulations from the president and the cabinet.

In terms of an update on what’s happening in Guyana – the minister, in a bit of wry humour, said that if anyone overseas picks up a newspaper they would get the impression that Guyanese are living “in hell”.  For example the headlines from one newspaper today said, “Burgeoning accidents in the river.”  The article went back over a 5 year period and found that there were12 water taxi accidents during the period – which works out to be two to three accidents a year.  In Toronto, the previous day’s news reported two drownings for the local area alone.

That is the type of image some people go to great lengths to portray, the minister pointed out.
“ But there is another reality in Guyana.  Between 2001 and 2005, growth was negative.  However, since 2006, Guyana is one of the few countries to show growth in the economy – something has to be working to post these results year after year.

“But it’s not only about building wealth – not only about new bridges and roads and businesses.  It’s also about human and social development and making Guyana a place where people are happy, contented and want to stay and build strong roots.   It’s about the programmes that have been put in place to help the 150,000 people who still need a strong helping hand.  The Ministry of Labour/Social Services/ Social security has seen the largest budget increase over the past two  years so that they can reach out and help those who need better access,” Minister Nadir said.. 

The annual dropout numbers from schools have been reduced from 4,500 to 2,500.  Every year, 2,000 of those who drop out are equipped with an employable skill and jobs found for them. 

Thirty thousand single parents have been given help with daycare and with training so that these homemakers can also participate in earning an income.  The school uniform programme has been improving attendance – and there is the school feeding programme (52,000 children).  This is how the government is leveling the playing field – providing assistance to those who need it and not just waiting on support from friends and relatives abroad.

In terms of what’s to come, the Minister said no country in the world can progress without two things – electricity and connectivity.   The Amelia Falls Hydro Project is not just a dream now – in about four years, more than 85% of households in Guyana will be powered by hydro power.

And there is an even more ambitious programme to give 90,000 laptops to vulnerable families, starting with single parents and the disabled.  The idea is to place at the fingertips of Guyana’s children the tools for a knowledge economy.  So Guyana is building a fibre-optic backbone from Lethem to Georgetown.  The entire country will be wifi-ed.  The laptops are the gateway tools to access this world of knowledge.

This is the vision, which is not only about creating wealth and having a good time – the vision is to ensure that your neighbour is as happy as you.  We can provide a Guyana with security, with knowledge, and with a lifestyle that will ensure our people would want to stay right there, in the land of Eldorado, and build on what has been provided, Minister Nadir concluded.