…President tells Rose Hall residents

PRESIDENT David Granger on Thursday called on residents of Rose Hall to celebrate the rich legacy of their foreparents who transformed bushes into villages and villages into town and he urged them to begin to look towards other industries for economic advancement as rice and sugar contract.

The President was at the time delivering the feature address at the opening ceremony of the 175th Anniversary celebrations of Rose Hall held at the Rose Hall Sports Club Ground. The President who also unveiled a Monument in the Desmond Hoyte playground to officially declare the anniversary celebrations open and to pay homage to the 57 freed residents who were part of the village movement and are responsible for the current state of the town, reflected on the history of the township and the basis on which they managed to transform the bushes into what is now deemed as the economic hub of Region Six.

He noted that they built the town on the four pillars of: home, education, church and farm. He said if one of these pillars is knocked down it will lead to a broken home, lawlessness, ignorance and starvation. “The first thing they wanted to do was to bring their family together, so they acquired lands to build homes, secondly they saw the need for education so they built schools, and they wanted to worship God so they built churches and fourthly they wanted to feed themselves, in those days there were no supermarkets, you ate what you grew and you grew what you wanted to eat. So when we celebrate 175th Anniversary of Rose Hall we are celebrating the vision of people who never went to school, who never went to university, people who never knew to read or write but they established these villages like house built on four pillars, the pillar of the home, the pillar of the school, pillar of the church and the pillar of the farm. I tell you this, if you want your town or village to collapse, knock down one of these pillar and see what happens.”

The Guyanese leader applauded the efforts of the township which he said has recognised that economic progress is based on education. He called on residents to protect and preserve the education legacy of Rose Hall by ensuring that they play their part in lending a helping hand to children who are having difficulties getting to school to acquire an education. He alluded to the 5 Bs initiative, which he said is making it easier for all to get access to education.

The President also called on residents to consider making Rose Hall the economic hub for Region Six, since it has the potential to establish new industries in the face of contraction in the sugar and rice industries. “I am urging you that now that we have transformation and consolidation in the sugar industry let us look to see ways and means of creating new industries; Black Bush Polder was opened because sugar estates were closing down, everybody knows if you read the history of sugar you will see over the last 100 years the sugar industry has been contracting, the rice industry has been contracting, seventy years ago you couldn’t count the amount of rice mills, but now they are contracting, but what I am trying to say is just as the seed is destroyed for the plant to grow what you are seeing is the conditions being created for new industries to emerge.”

Grow our economy
The President continued that the door for micro financing and agro-processing is open and neighbouring countries are rushing to the Corentyne because the conditions are there for economic growth and told residents that if foreigners can come in and make money, “let us not bemoan, let us grow our economy.”

President Granger highlighted that in light of these opportunities the celebration should be about the future and not the past. “Celebration today should not be about the past, it is about the potential of making Rose Hall an even greater Town…Rose Hall is about the future of what Guyana can do, not what we did 100 year ago, but what these children can do a decade or a few decades from now.”

Meanwhile, Mayor of Rose Hall Town, Vijay Ramoo, used the opportunity to condemn what he called the oppression faced at the Rose Hall Town Council by the Town Clerk and publicly called for the President to aid in her removal. “The residents are suffering because of administrative deficiencies Mr. President and the same way your administration removed the REO from Region Six, the same way you can act in removing the town clerk of Rose Hall Town.”

The mayor cited that many developmental projects are being stymied. The Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the RHTYC, Hilbert Foster, also aired his disgust at the current situation at the Town Council and stated that after 30 years he is seriously considering stepping down from the post. President Granger during his address promised to get the matter resolved. Foster in his presentation highlighted the activities planned for the celebration and noted that the founders must be watching down with pride since the Town has a lot to be proud of despite the challenges faced.

Also addressing resident was Regional Chairman, David Armogan, who too reflected on the history of the Town and referred to Rose Hall as “a small town with a big heart and as the commercial capital of Berbice.” He called on the residents to upkeep their responsibility to ensure the hard work of their foreparents does not go in vain but help to build on their legacy that they left. “I am pleased to be here to celebrate since freed slaves bought the village of Rose Hall 175 years ago it is a momentous occasion and one worthy to celebrate. The freed slaves had very little money but what they did with it is was very important; they did not choose to imbibe or sport, what they chose was to pool their resources and buy a little village which they knew they had to develop and make a living out of it.”

The 175th Anniversary celebration is being spearheaded by the RHTYSC, in collaboration with the Mayor and Town Council of Rose Hall Town. It kicked off with a parade and March past from the Rose Hall Arch to the Area H Community Centre Ground. Several persons were awarded for their contributions towards the development of the Town, including four women for their hard work and dedication. There were also the launch of the sponsorship for the under-13 cricket team by Poona’s Pharmacy and the Renewal of Sponsorship by Metro office Supplies for the Female Cricket Club. Additionally, the President also assisted in handing over 40 wheelchairs to residents and unveiled the scoreboard.