PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has hailed the sterling contributions of indentured immigrants towards the ongoing process of developing Guyana. He was at the time speaking at Arrival Day celebrations organised by the West Demerara Praant of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha at the Ocean View Mandir, Uitvulgt, West Coast Demerara.
He noted however, that notwithstanding all that has been achieved, there is much more to be done. “When we think about the struggles that our ancestors bore, and we consider the achievements that Indians have made in this country, it is clear that we have a lot to celebrate…but, we must not be satisfied, we must strive for more,” the President said.
One of the most important achievements directly linked to indentured labourers is the survival of the sugar industry in which they toiled for years to create wealth for Great Britain; but today, this industry is nationally owned.
However, President Ramotar said that there is need for a new way of thinking to appreciate the industry and its challenges in order to move it forward.
“It has a lot of problems that we are trying our best to tackle, but we must understand now that we are working for ourselves, and our nation…only then we could become real owners of the industry, because we will see the need for its continued existence. It calls for all us, at the level of the government, the level of management, and at the level of workers to play our part,” the Head of State said.
To do this, the industry must see new and innovative approaches to develop it. This process has already been started by the government, as it continues to strive to put systems in place to enable the production of new products, including the electricity generation for the national grid.
Turning his attention to the $31B cut to the 2013 national budget, the president called on citizens to defend against anything that threatens national development. He noted that from an economic standpoint, such a move by the Opposition can be very detrimental to economic growth.
“In economics, when you spend money in the economy, it generates economic activities, and if you cut $31B, then you are creating a huge hole for us to fill…all of us must stand up together to reverse the cuts that they have made, we cannot afford it because it will take our country backwards,” he said.
He noted too, that most of the projects that they have now cut are multi-year projects such as the Amaila Falls Hydro, Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion and the Specialty Hospital, which received the Opposition’s support in 2012. This led government to enter into contractual arrangements with foreign companies.
“These people are moved by vindictiveness, moved by hate and they don’t care about the plight of the ordinary people,” he said.
The president also spoke of the contributions of the late Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud in Hinduism and in the field of politics. Pandit Persaud, who died last month, was the founder of the Dharmic Sabha.
He noted that the Sabha’s philosophy of “action thy duty; reward not thy concern” is no different from the philosophy that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) stands for.
“Selfless sacrifices must be made so that we can propel our country and move from strength to strength,” the President concluded. (GINA)