HIS Excellency President David Arthur Granger has, again, extended an outreached hand to all stakeholders in Guyana to put past differences aside to work together for the good of all the people of this beautiful country of ours.In his much anticipated address at yesterday’s ceremonial opening of the 11th Parliament of Guyana, the President reiterated his invitation to the Opposition to take up their seats in the National Assembly.

“Let us put the hostility of the hustings behind us…Let us eschew the rancour of the campaign and the rhetoric of rivalry. Let us look to the future with hope, determined to do only what is best for the Guyanese people now and for generations to come,” the President said.

“Let us reinforce the foundation of our nation by working together for the common good. We are the National Assembly, not a political party rally,” he added in his call for peace and reconciliation and for consensual approaches to development.

“We shall, in pursuit of the common good, build bridges across chasms. We therefore renew our invitation to the People’s Progressive Party to join A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change in this honourable House to serve the people. Thousands of Guyanese, a month ago, believed that they elected us to craft a collaborative approach to confront the challenges facing our country.

“This is the time for collaboration, not confrontation. This is the place – the halls of the National Assembly, where we will conduct the great debate on Guyana’s future. This is the time for all Guyanese – from the hinterland to the coastland; from the Aruka to Achewib – to come together,” the President posited.

Rapprochement between Government and Opposition so that cordial relations could be established between the leaders of the land is in keeping with the expressed wishes of President Granger, who stressed the need for unity in joint initiatives to move the country forward so as to achieve the optimum possibilities for development in the nation and the upward mobility of the Guyanese people – individually and collectively.

To the members of his Government, he adjured: “Those of us who were elected have work to do. We have a responsibility to represent the people. We have an obligation to speak for them. We have a duty to serve their interests. They have put their trust in us. That is why we are here.”

The Head-of-State promised his commitment to be President of all the people as he explained, “When we last met, I was sitting among you as Leader of the Opposition. I lost my seat! I stand before you today, not merely as Leader of a Party, or of a partnership, or of a coalition, but of the entire nation. I am leader of an Administration that is committed to doing the greatest good for the greatest number of Guyanese.”

Addressing the assemblage at the opening of the 11th Parliament, President Granger also noted, “This Parliament will have the honour of leading this country into its 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations next year. It will have the duty of charting the destiny of this great nation for the next five years until 2020.”

Referring to the prerequisite of social cohesion in nation-building endeavours, the Head-of-State adumbrated: “We are guided by a ‘One Nation’ policy that will bring enormous benefits to Guyana. We envisage the elimination of one-party domination of the Government; the enhancement of local, municipal and parliamentary democracy; the elimination of ethnic insecurity; the expansion of economic enterprise; the enrichment of cultural life and the deepening of national consciousness.”

He stressed, “Our Poverty Reduction Plan will adopt a ‘One Nation’ approach – reducing inequalities, removing obstacles to education, opening opportunities to the disadvantaged and uniting coastland and hinterland. We shall introduce social policies that will harness and develop the creative energies of our people and that will support the holistic development of our women and youth.
Your Government seeks first and foremost to eliminate extreme poverty.

Acknowledging “… the democratically-expressed will of the people of this great country as expressed in the results of the recent General and Regional Elections”, the President reminded the nation: “Your Government has an obligation, over the next five years until 2020, during the legal life of the 11th Parliament, to fulfill the aspirations of our founding fathers. We now therefore, reaffirm our determination to continue the task of working towards achieving national unity and towards making Guyana ‘One Nation’.”
President Granger went on to list an ambitions and all-encompassing range of projected developmental and social enhancement initiatives over the next five years, promising in conclusion, that his Government will undertake to ensure equitable access of all Guyanese to all the rights of their constitutional dues.

In an optimistic vein, the Head-of-State said, “Your Government envisages a prosperous Guyana. We shall craft a long-term, national economic strategy that will ensure economic stability and social security, raise the productive potential of the economy and improve the quality of life for all.

“We shall introduce amendments to appropriate laws to reform taxation, including the value-added tax, to give income tax concessions to wage earners and to offer fiscal incentives on an equitable basis to all investors.

Assuring that his Administration is committed to a well-governed Guyana, the Head-of-State, reasserted and reaffirmed the integrity and autonomy of the National Assembly. “We shall ensure that this Assembly is granted administrative autonomy, institutional autonomy, political autonomy and financial autonomy.”

Importantly the President re-affirmed his administration’s governance policy will reflect the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles on the Three Branches of Government endorsed by the Commonwealth Heads of Government.

Space does not permit this editorial to expand further on the very statesmanlike speech that His Excellency President David Arthur Granger delivered to the nation, in Parliament, yesterday.

Suffice it to say that he reached out to every level of citizenry and addressed the concerns of all in his concluding remarks, wherein he prayed for “… the unity of the Guyanese people. I pray that this National Assembly will debate, deliberate and determine the matters that will be brought before you without cowardice or malice. I pray that your decisions will result in a good life for all Guyanese.”