“…the accomplishment of the Jagdeo Administration in rebuilding social and physical infrastructure is quite unparalleled,given the inherited logistical nightmare in 1992 and the persistence of financial viability troubles.” All through these difficult times, Guyana’s economy continued to battle difficult storms,such as,the  adverse shocks emanating from the floods  of 2005 and 2006; the ensuing high global  food and fuel prices; the economic stranglehold that the World Trade Organization (WTO) continues to exact on small, poor and vulnerable economies…”

HISTORY WILL record September 16, 2011 or 9/16, as the day when the world saw the transformation of the National Stadium into a glorious cultural mosaic. It was on this day that the Stadium became the centrepiece of gratitude; where the nation proudly decked the Stadium’s chairs to shower a well-deserved and well-earned ‘thank you’ to President Bharrat Jagdeo for creating a different and better Guyana for all Guyanese over the last 12 years.
And, predictably, there were the usual few detractors from the Alliance for Change (AFC) who generally attempt to foul up anything that is good in their vain and poorly-organized attempt to convey their ill-advised message of a day of shame. Again, predictably, these few failed miserably to make even an iota of impact on the thousands who filled the Stadium to capacity. And I must add that the AFC’s foolhardy and botched endeavour to cast aspersions on President Jagdeo, yet again, does not bode well for that party at the 2011 national election.
The AFC’s prospects at the next election have become even dimmer, as the nation begins to unearth the fact that none of the AFC’s ‘top people’ has any public governance track record. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) programme of ‘better years are ahead for Guyana’ is in the best hands with people of considerable public governance experience and people committed to the working-class ideals and aspirations.
Jagdeo, the boy who came from Unity, East Coast Demerara, to becoming the President of Guyana, accepted the reigns of political leadership in August 1999. This was a period in which Guyana was still in the throes of problematic financial viability.
Notwithstanding such problematic, the accomplishment of the Jagdeo Administration in rebuilding social and physical infrastructure is quite unparalleled, given the inherited logistical nightmare in 1992 and the persistence of financial viability troubles. All through these difficult times, Guyana’s economy continued to battle difficult storms, such as, the adverse shocks emanating from the floods of 2005 and 2006; the ensuing high global food and fuel prices; the economic stranglehold that the World Trade Organization (WTO) continues to exact on small, poor, and vulnerable economies; the liberalization of the European sugar regime with the general erosion of trade preferences resulting in price cuts, constant migration of skilled personnel, now a global phenomenon, and the inherited external debt of US$2.1 billion.
President Jagdeo inherited the dampening legacy of high debt service obligations, which devoured more than 50% of the country’s export earnings, with a small residual amount for the social services sector. In this period, too, there were critics, who saw Jagdeo’s debt relief requests and applications as global begging. Nevertheless, through President Jagdeo’s manoeuvrings, Guyana moved from being a Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) with minimal economic growth to stable growth, where it is now at 5.9%. Counting from 1992, Guyana took almost 10 years to reach financial viability; a period in which the Jagdeo detractors mounted spurious criticisms at everything that Jagdeo did, – as consolidating democracy; building progressive national unity; pioneering the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS); placing Guyana on the international ‘global warming’ stage; operationalizing the Jagdeo Initiative on Agriculture; and sustaining the stability of macro-economic fundamentals, among others – making him the most over-scrutinized President in Guyana’s history.
Moreover, Guyana today shows a healthy national unity under the Jagdeo Administration. Notwithstanding the new opposition’s (an unholy group coming from politics, private media, and the hate literati) constant endeavours to construct and reconstruct race-ethnic conflict among the masses, the masses remain unimpressed with such futile efforts. And one of the ways that the new opposition concocts this malady is where they use the race card to induce the masses to believe that those ethnically different are a threat to their survival.
Nonetheless, there are three mistaken assumptions with this inducement: (1) ethnic identities are static; (2) ethnic identities drive people to hate and create instability; and (3) ethnic diversity produces ethnic violence. And Jagdeo through his constant policy moves to drive progressive national unity has been able to demonstrate to the masses that these assumptions are erroneous; and the masses are correct in endorsing the Jagdeo line on this matter. I should also note that there is support for the view that the history of human rights experiences and the periodic solidarity between Indians and Africans in Guyana, demonstrate a fundamental unity of their interests.
And Guyanese here and in the Diaspora should be proud of 9/16, as its tradition has roots in other democracies. I will mention only one such place, the USA. At the end of President Bill Clinton’s second term in office, the armed forces gave the traditional farewell tribute at Fort Myer; several ‘appreciation’ events followed: the party on the South Lawn attracting people from all over the country; then to Foundry United Methodist Church for more ‘appreciation’; then to the pro-peace Israel Policy Forum in NYC; the Democratic Party headquarters; the ‘appreciation’ tours in the States of Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, the solo concert at Camp David, etc.
Hence, President Jagdeo is in good company; the people thanked Jagdeo for making Guyana a better place, and Jagdeo in turn offered his appreciation to the nation for its enduring support and encouragement. The detractors on 9/16 are way out of line. And 9/16 was a monumental achievement for all Guyana, especially for the boy from village Unity becoming President.