AS we enter 2019 we look backward over the year which has just passed and also to the dawn of 2019 with renewed hope.

Over the year, the Government strove very diligently to usher in the “Good Life” for all individuals and communities and did succeed in achieving this goal in some measure. One of the characteristics of this era of the “Good Life” which the Government ushered in was the sense of peace and relaxation which subsumed the society, exorcising from it the tensions which had enveloped it over the last four or five decades.

Many were the achievements over the last year but we will not look at them with the eye of an accountant and meticulously record them. Rather, we would cast our eyes over the broad landscape and mention at random whatever may have caught our attention:

Government always showed its empathy for people of the villages and interior. Amerindian communities, as the indigenous people of Guyana, were accorded new privileges and facilities in terms of land rights and social development. One of the most important of these developments was the work done for the preservation of the Amerindian languages: Government notices were published for the first time in the Amerindian languages and these languages will begin to be used in the schools. Officials working in predominantly Amerindian districts were encouraged to learn the Amerindian languages.

A great deal of infrastructural development was done in the villages and villagers were encouraged to recapture the spirit of creative entrepreneurship of the post Emancipation “Village Movement”. With regards to the workers who had to be laid off when the Sugar Industry had to be re-organised, every effort was made to retrain them to enter other occupations. Government was aware of the multifarious problems of the City of Georgetown and on several occasions gave added subventions to the City Council, especially to pay for rubbish removal.

It appointed a Commission of Inquiry chaired by a very distinguished former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Kennard. The findings of the Commission provided a prescription for the Council to renew itself and the city.

The country’s economy was well managed and grew by nearly 4 per cent with predications that it will grow to a respectable 5.5% in 2019. The Minister of Finance’s End of Year Budget was another success and gave many social benefits such as the increase of the Old Age Pension to $20,500. per month. New facilities were offered to the business community and increased assistance was voted for the development of young entrepreneurs and for the startup of small businesses.

Labour relations were generally friendly. The salaries of public servants and teachers were increased as far as the finances of the country would permit. Though such increases were less than what the workers were demanding, they understood that they were given as much as could be afforded. At the end of the day, there was no rancor or hostility to government.

The Education System of the country continued to improve. Guyana’s CXC results continued to be among the most outstanding in the Caribbean and primary education also improved with new school buildings and the refurbishing of others. For tertiary education, the Teachers Training College performed better than last year and the University continued to improve by the introduction of new disciplines in the curriculum and by establishing contact with past students and academic staff.

The Government has always had a deep concern for the Diaspora and there were some positive re-migration facilities instituted. The President and government officials met the Diaspora groups both in Guyana and abroad. Many persons from these groups promised to relocate to Guyana or to invest in the country. The government defended Guyana’s sovereignty with vigour and success and has furthered the process of having the World Court involved in the matter. In these efforts, they have succeeded in securing the Parliamentary Opposition’s full and absolute support.

The commitment to good governance and democracy continued to be an integral part of the Government’s policies. Local Government elections were held and both foreign observers and even the Parliamentary Opposition admitted that they were fair and well conducted. In the last days of the year, the Opposition succeeded in its no-confidence Motion against the government, an outcome which was quite unexpected.

The government again manifested its commitment to democracy by immediately accepting the results of the motion and discussions between the Government and the Opposition will soon take place. National elections have now been brought forward by just over a year and Government has committed itself to have fair elections held so as to strengthen democracy in the country.

We approach the advent of the New Year 2019 in the spirit of Auld Lang Syne and from all indications the politicians and political parties are doing the same. With the political parties being less adversarial and more amicable, Guyanese can look forward to a Happy New Year.