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At the opening ceremony of the PPP’s 30th Congress, General Secretary of the RPA, Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj, drew a nexus between the struggles for viability in the rice industry and the struggle by the PPP for the restoration of democratic norms for boosting development in Guyana.
Like the trade unions, the RPA and other worker representative bodies had become toothless poodles, until the advent of Dr. Jagan into the fray. Then General-Secretary of the RPA, PPP stalwart Pariag Sukhai had gifted several acres of rice lands to Dr. Jagan so that he could qualify for membership and a term in office as President of the RPA during which significant changes evolved to re-vitalize the industry.
And this partnership has remained a constant throughout the years until extant times when the rice sector has taken on a development trajectory directly in line with national development under a PPP/C Government. In his address, Seeraj said “As we deliberate on the various issues of interest to our party during this 30th Congress, “I would like us to remember on this special occasion those intrepid founding fathers and mothers of the PPP and its precursor, the PAC; and those who joined them in the long, dangerous and difficult years of struggle. Many of the stalwarts are no longer with us, and we number among them Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Mrs. Janet Jagan, Sash Sawh, Mr. Boysie Ramkarran, late departed Pt Reepu Daman Persaud, and many others: Time does not permit me to make a roll call of honour for all our departed comrades who served our Party and our country well.
The “PPP, however, is a vital force that is not static and stagnant, but is an ever-evolving institution with new blood taking the challenge to continue to strengthen our support base – and here I would like to welcome all those young people who are making a difference in the country from the platform of the PPP…. the RPA and the PPP are symbiotic, because the confluences of development with a human face, a concept so dear to our Dr. Jagan, is integral to all our considerations, our decisions, and our actions.
“Since the accession of the PPP to the Administrative levels of the Guyanese nation, the PPP Government has achieved a near-miraculous turnaround of Guyana’s social development and economic growth – and it is a matter of public record that Guyana was worse than the famous Augean stables when the PPP took office in 1992. Every sector has been catalyzed through transformative processes that took our country from an international rating on development graphs as lower or on par with Haiti; but today we are ranked as a middle income country. Our macro=economic fundamentals have been stabilized and major financing and other international bodies are lauding our prudent fiscal management which has achieved a sustained growth rating, food security, MDG in primary education – and we are like a runaway train to progress; and this trajectory has been sustained even in the face of a global economic crisis, which is severely impacting third world nations, even our CARICOM partners; and an opposition that seems hell-bent to stymie, and even cause retrogression in all the gains we have made.
The sector that I have primary interest in – the rice sector, has been achieving incrementally greater output as a direct result of the PPP Government’s interventions and facilitating measures; and when one considers that during the tenure of the former regime Guyana had been forced to import low-quality rice for local consumption, the progress made in this sector is amazing. Today our export market-share has increased tremendously.
Alluding to the Venezuelan trade deal and other expanded markets, Seeraj spoke about the ever-increasing production targets and high levels of export revenues.
“The rice industry continues to remain one of the main pillars of Guyana’s economy and to maintain its rating as the second most important agricultural industry in Guyana,” he informed the gathering”. Increased rice production was as a result of support from the stakeholders in the industry, with the Government being the main sustainer as the administration continues to provide significant intervention in the areas of drainage and irrigation, where facilities have been considerably improved, with ongoing works being undertaken, in a continuum of efforts to mitigate the effects of the climate change phenomenon and other anomalies detrimentally affecting the agricultural sector.
In an earlier interview with the chronicle, Seeraj had attributed this success to the liberalization and free-trade policies initiated by the current PPP/C administration, which he said has re-energised the rice sector; and the support of the Government – directly and through the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and RPA, has been intensive, extensive, and impactful.
He denounced the anti-developmental actions, in and out of Parliament, of the collective opposition and the destructive strategies being used by the joint opposition in attempts to derail Government’s developmental trajectory and called on Party members and supporters to be vigilant so that the nation can together”…march toward the achievement of Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s dream – attainment of peace, progress and prosperity as a united Guyanese nation.”
Like the trade unions, the RPA and other worker representative bodies had become toothless poodles, until the advent of Dr. Jagan into the fray. Then General-Secretary of the RPA, PPP stalwart Pariag Sukhai had gifted several acres of rice lands to Dr. Jagan so that he could qualify for membership and a term in office as President of the RPA during which significant changes evolved to re-vitalize the industry.
And this partnership has remained a constant throughout the years until extant times when the rice sector has taken on a development trajectory directly in line with national development under a PPP/C Government. In his address, Seeraj said “As we deliberate on the various issues of interest to our party during this 30th Congress, “I would like us to remember on this special occasion those intrepid founding fathers and mothers of the PPP and its precursor, the PAC; and those who joined them in the long, dangerous and difficult years of struggle. Many of the stalwarts are no longer with us, and we number among them Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Mrs. Janet Jagan, Sash Sawh, Mr. Boysie Ramkarran, late departed Pt Reepu Daman Persaud, and many others: Time does not permit me to make a roll call of honour for all our departed comrades who served our Party and our country well.
The “PPP, however, is a vital force that is not static and stagnant, but is an ever-evolving institution with new blood taking the challenge to continue to strengthen our support base – and here I would like to welcome all those young people who are making a difference in the country from the platform of the PPP…. the RPA and the PPP are symbiotic, because the confluences of development with a human face, a concept so dear to our Dr. Jagan, is integral to all our considerations, our decisions, and our actions.
“Since the accession of the PPP to the Administrative levels of the Guyanese nation, the PPP Government has achieved a near-miraculous turnaround of Guyana’s social development and economic growth – and it is a matter of public record that Guyana was worse than the famous Augean stables when the PPP took office in 1992. Every sector has been catalyzed through transformative processes that took our country from an international rating on development graphs as lower or on par with Haiti; but today we are ranked as a middle income country. Our macro=economic fundamentals have been stabilized and major financing and other international bodies are lauding our prudent fiscal management which has achieved a sustained growth rating, food security, MDG in primary education – and we are like a runaway train to progress; and this trajectory has been sustained even in the face of a global economic crisis, which is severely impacting third world nations, even our CARICOM partners; and an opposition that seems hell-bent to stymie, and even cause retrogression in all the gains we have made.
The sector that I have primary interest in – the rice sector, has been achieving incrementally greater output as a direct result of the PPP Government’s interventions and facilitating measures; and when one considers that during the tenure of the former regime Guyana had been forced to import low-quality rice for local consumption, the progress made in this sector is amazing. Today our export market-share has increased tremendously.
Alluding to the Venezuelan trade deal and other expanded markets, Seeraj spoke about the ever-increasing production targets and high levels of export revenues.
“The rice industry continues to remain one of the main pillars of Guyana’s economy and to maintain its rating as the second most important agricultural industry in Guyana,” he informed the gathering”. Increased rice production was as a result of support from the stakeholders in the industry, with the Government being the main sustainer as the administration continues to provide significant intervention in the areas of drainage and irrigation, where facilities have been considerably improved, with ongoing works being undertaken, in a continuum of efforts to mitigate the effects of the climate change phenomenon and other anomalies detrimentally affecting the agricultural sector.
In an earlier interview with the chronicle, Seeraj had attributed this success to the liberalization and free-trade policies initiated by the current PPP/C administration, which he said has re-energised the rice sector; and the support of the Government – directly and through the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and RPA, has been intensive, extensive, and impactful.
He denounced the anti-developmental actions, in and out of Parliament, of the collective opposition and the destructive strategies being used by the joint opposition in attempts to derail Government’s developmental trajectory and called on Party members and supporters to be vigilant so that the nation can together”…march toward the achievement of Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s dream – attainment of peace, progress and prosperity as a united Guyanese nation.”
