A PROMINENT veteran Caribbean journalist has acknowledged “the valuable leadership” of Guyana’s President, Dr Irfaan Ali, at home and in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Guyana-born Rickey Singh, now in retirement after six decades on the Caribbean beat, showered humble praise on President Ali in a letter of thanks to the Guyana Leader, for having greeted him a month earlier on his 86th birthday.

In his greetings to Singh’s birthday on February 1, President Ali assured the veteran Guyanese and Caribbean journalist that “You can take pride and satisfaction from your years of service to the people of Guyana and the Caribbean.”

The President added, “Your contributions to press freedom in the Caribbean have been legendary… and your courage in defending journalistic independence and integrity has not been forgotten.”

President Ali told the recently-retired veteran Caribbean media personality, “History will certainly acknowledge you as one of the finest practitioners of the profession in the Caribbean.”
President Ali also expressed his “personal admiration and respect” for Singh’s “years of sterling and steadfast service as one of the region’s foremost journalists.”

In his reply, Singh acknowledged the president’s leadership roles, saying:
“I commend the leadership you are demonstrating in corralling your peers in CARICOM to address the critical issues of food and energy security — and importantly, the value of collective action for a stronger community.”

And he added, “I wish you the very best as you take your pride of place among the brightest and best of minds that our dear country continues to produce, regardless of the challenges.”
The Guyana-born regional veteran, who mentored many Caribbean media personalities, heard too from regional colleagues, including President of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) Wesley Gibbings, veteran Caribbean broadcasters, Julian Rogers, Sandra Baptiste, Andy Johnson, Orin Gordon, Kaymar Jordan and Peter Richards, Jamaican writer, Mark Lee and Saint Lucia’s Earl Bousquet.

Regional figures congratulating Singh also included: Former Saint Lucia Prime Minister, Dr Kenny D. Anthony; Director General of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Dr. Didacus Jules; former Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Dr June Soomer; Grenada’s Ambassador to CARICOM, Senator Arley Gill; Barbados MP, Trevor Prescod; Dominica’s Ambassador, Damien Dublin; US-based Grenadian journalist, Don Rojas; Saint Lucia’s Monsignor, Patrick Anthony; Dr Patrick ‘PI’ Gomes and former Grenada Speaker of Parliament, Chester Humphrey.

Singh served as a Caribbean journalist for 60 years, starting at the then Guiana Graphic (Predecessor of the Guyana Chronicle) in 1957 and retiring at age 80 in 2017.
He was honoured several years ago by the University of the West Indies (The UWI) with a Doctorate of Letters for his writings and was also the recipient of several other regional citations.
The veteran Caribbean journalist now resides with relatives in Trinidad & Tobago while ironing-out his immigration status there, but also visits Guyana from time to time.