By Elvin Carl Croker

“He was a brilliant man, a futuristic thinker, a man of honour, having integrity and a high degree of discipline.” These were the words used by His his Excellency President David Granger to describe the late L.F.S. Burnham when he addressed the gathering on the occasion of the 34th death anniversary of the former President held on August 6  at the Mausoleum, Place of Heroes in the Botanical Gardens.

At the occasion, the Pepperpot Magazine sought from two attendees, Eugene Gilbert and Oscar Clarke, their comments on how Guyana’s first Prime Minister, Executive President and founder of the People’s National Congress (PNC) impacted their lives and what his life meant to them.

National Director of Community Development, Eugene Gilbert that Burnham saw in him potential he did not know he had.

“I don’t know what potential he probably saw in me, but he appointed me as a Member of Parliament of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana at age 23,” he said.
He went on to say that Burnham had great confidence in young people and in his humble opinion Burnham is the most transformative figure of Guyana.
“Under his leadership, we built on the national ethos of unity and amity promoting education as a foundational tool,” he said.

Gilbert, who said he was serving as the National Chairman of the Young Socialist Movement (YSM) at the time of Burnham’s death, believes the reason the founder leader was very enthused with young people was because he had become a minister of government at 30 and having died at 62, the impact he has made in Guyana needs to be recognised.
Another attendee said Burnham is an extraordinary leader that cannot be duplicated and a man of the people.

Meanwhile, longstanding People’s National Congress (PNC) member and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown, Oscar Clarke said he was just 26 when Burnham called him to serve.

He opined that Burnham is a legend and that for this country there is no other leader that we had since him that can compare with him.

“Burnham identified me, brought me in, gave me an opportunity as a young man. For me, he was my mentor, my leader and he will remain indelibly etched in my mind as the greatest thing this country has seen in politics;  he was a political wizard,” Clarke said.
Cleark added that the founder leader had entrusted in him the responsibility of setting up the National Youth Corps in 1967 in Tumatumari.

According to Encyclopedia.com, as head of the government of Guyana, Burnham is credited with a number of developments:  “Guyana’s National Emblems the Golden Arrowhead; the coat of arms; the anthem, “Dear Land of Guyana;” the Canje pheasant, Guyana’s national bird; the national flower, the Victoria Regia Lily, one of the largest of its kind in the world; and the motto “One Nation, One People, One Destiny”—were instituted and are symbols of his legacy. It was his administration that created the national monuments acknowledging outstanding local and international figures, such as the 1763 monument erected to honour Cuffy, and the Non-Aligned Movement Monument with busts of Nasser (Egypt), Nkrumah (Ghana), Nehru (India), and Tito (Yugoslavia). The Burnham administration also recognised ethnic-religious events, such as Phagwah and Diwali festivals, along with Mashramani, a national festival, and they were established as public holidays.

National development in education, health, housing, pure water and electricity supplies, and youth schemes accelerated when Burnham headed Guyana’s government. Major construction works such as the Soesdyke-Linden highway, the West Demerara, Corentyne and Mahdia roads, and the international airport, Timehri, were completed. He implemented resettlement schemes to relocate persons to hinterland locations. The Demerara Harbour Bridge, reputedly, the world’s longest floating bridge, and the textile mill and clay brick factories became operational during Burnham’s tenure.

The National Insurance Scheme, the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana National Service, the Guyana National Cooperative Bank, the Agricultural Bank, Critchlow Labour College, Kuru Kuru Cooperative College, President’s College, the National Cultural Centre, and a host of other enterprises are among institutions established during Burnham’s time in office.

Forbes Burnham advocated regionalism, nonalignment, a new international economic order, and a new world information order. He made Guyana one of the original members of the Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA) that in 1973 became the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), with most Caribbean countries. Burnham supported a West Indies Federation as leader of the opposition and as head of the PNC. He was also a keen supporter of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and of liberation movements in Africa.

Honours and awards attest to Burnham’s significance and stature. They include the Order of Excellence in 1973 (Guyana), the Grand Cordon of L’Orde du Nil (Egypt) and Jose Marti (Cuba) in 1975, an honorary doctorate of laws from Dalhousie University (Canada) in 1977, the Cruzeiro De Sul (the highest award in Brazil) in 1983, the Bulgarian Star of Planinay in 1984, and Yugoslavia’s Order of the Red Star in 1985.”

As the leader of Guyana for two decades, Forbes Burnham shaped this country’s political destiny.

Born on February 20, 1923, in Kitty, Georgetown, Burnham’s twenty-one-year rule ended on August 6, 1985, when he died of heart failure during throat surgery but his works live on.