AFTER an absence of several years, the Guyana Prize for Literature has returned, thanks to the visionary thinking of the PPP/C administration. The awards were presented by Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and Minister of Culture Youth and Sports, Charles Ramson (Jnr.).

As noted by the Prime Minister, the awards were restored by the PPP/C Government after a six-year hiatus because of the importance of the written word.

The Prime Minister lamented the fact that our writers were left without a platform upon which they could give expression to their talent and be recognised for their achievements.

This, he said, was unacceptable by the current administration which, immediately upon its return to office, sought to revive this prestigious programme and return to our local writers the opportunity to hone their craft and expand their horizons through the written word.

It will be recalled that the awards were scrapped by the previous Granger administration, but restored by President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali in an effort to advance the cultural and intellectual development of the Guyanese people in the area of literature and the expressive arts.

“Government’s commitment is to ensure that the future Letitia Wrights, the future Eddie Grants, the future Martin Carter’s and Mittelholzers of Guyana are able to realize their potential right here on home soil,” the Prime Minister said in his address to participants of the award ceremony which was held at the National Culture Centre.

In this regard, the PPP/C administration is making a sizeable investment in the area of culture as manifested in the provision of grants and the soon-to-be accredited Institute of Creative Arts.
The fact is that Guyana is rich with talent which, regrettably, was suppressed under the previous PNC regime which never placed arts and culture as a national priority. In fact, many talented persons were forced to go overseas to develop their craft or forced into a life of penury as a consequence of such neglect.

Guyanese are as talented as any in the Caribbean or, for that matter, the world. This is manifested in the outstanding academic performances by our students at the CSEC and CAPE examinations where our Guyanese students have consistently been taking the top spots in several subject areas, including the overall best.

Guyana’s achievements are multi-dimensional and cover a broad spectrum of development indicators.

It is now ranked among the fastest growing economies in the world and is well poised to become a regional leader both from an economic and cultural perspective.
The intellectual development of the society, or what is referred to as the country’s brain power, is critical for accelerated growth and development.

The return of the Guyana Prize for Literature is consistent with President Ali’s vision of an enlightened and culturally tolerant society where education and knowledge serve as the social glue to hold the society together.

Indeed, as observed by one of the adjudicators, there was that underlying sense of “One Guyana” detected in several of the entries to the Guyana Prize for Literature.
Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s awards in the several categories including the Youth Awards which is a new category introduced this year to encourage and develop youth talent.
The PPP/C administration must be commended for the forward-looking and enlightened position it is taking to transform the economic, cultural and intellectual landscape of the country.