IN commemoration of Guyana’s Golden Jubilee of Independence, President David Granger yesterday unveiled two plaques at the headquarters of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) at Regent Street and Shiv Chanderpaul Drive and at the GPSU’s Sports Centre at Thomas Lands, respectively. The President, also a historian, reminded the gathering that colonialism was an era of degradation where ordinary Guyanese had to struggle to achieve independence.
“On the night of the 25, May, 1966 on that sacred and holy night when you looked around Guyana, one would have asked if they were really free. The GDF chief of staff was a foreigner, the police commissioner was a foreigner, the bishop of the Anglican and Catholic Churches were foreigners, the vice chancellor of UG was a foreigner, the Governor-General of the country was a foreigner, when you looked around, you wanted to know whose country you were in,” the President said.
In reflecting on the need and importance of an independent Guyana, the President explained that many jobs under colonial rule were not within the ambit of reach for a Guyanese public servant.
“I remember in the 1960s even to get someone to become the Postmaster-General was cause for a strike, because the deputy Postmaster-General was about to be superseded by a foreigner, and the union stepped up, resulting in the formation of the Clerical & Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU).”
Underscoring that Guyanese were being stifled under the British Empire, President Granger said the GPSU was part of the struggle of “Guyanisation.” He said the 50th anniversary was not just a ceremonial occasion, but a landmark of a free Guyana.
According to the President, the work of the GPSU over its nine decades also contributed to the struggle for independence, which was the massive contribution of public servants.
Adding that very few people understood the meaning of colonialism, President Granger said people thought it was a golden age when everything worked and everyone knew their places and had enough food to eat. However, on the contrary, Guyanese were subdued.
Meanwhile, the President noted that copies of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Public Service report will be made available to the GPSU and discussions surrounding various issues will be discussed and negotiated.
“I will not commit or make any promises,” he said. President of the GPSU, Patrick Yarde, underscored the relationship between the government and the union in observing the country’s 50th independence, as he noted that both organs contribute to the working and social lives of the nation’s public servants.