PRESIDENT, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, during his recent address to commemorate Enmore Martyrs, spoke of the importance of advancing the One Guyana vision. According him, a One Guyana commission will soon be established.
This recommittal to the One Guyana vision comes against the background of a landslide victory by the PPP/C alliance in the recently concluded Local Government Elections. The PPP/C won an overwhelming majority of the constituencies and local government including in a number of APNU strongholds. This is indeed a major development; one that augers well for a stable and harmonious society.

It is significant that the call for a new and united Guyana was done at Enmore which was the scene of one of the most brutal and cold-blooded assaults on sugar workers on June 16, 1948. It was the killing of the sugar workers and the injuries sustained by several others that catalysed the formation of the People’s Progressive Party on January 1, 1950. The PPP, under the leadership of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, won a landslide victory in the 1953 elections, the first to be held under universal adult suffrage.

The formation of the PPP resulted in a change in political dynamics of the then colony. It took the workers’ struggle to a higher level, namely to the political level. For the first time, there was a political awakening of the people across ethnic and class lines which found expression in the massive electoral victory of the PPP in the 1953 elections. Regrettably, that unity was fractured with the suspension of the constitution and the eventual split of the PPP in 1955.

It would appear from recent developments that there is once again an emerging sense of shared values and consensus along the lines of the One Guyana vision as articulated by President Ali. This optimism is grounded in the massive modernisation programme of the PPP/C administration which is impacting positively on the lives of all Guyanese, regardless of their ethnicity or political orientation.

The sugar industry which was on the verge of collapse under the previous APNU+AFC administration has now been resuscitated. According to President Ali, there will be a major replanting exercise in which Guyana will benefit from technical assistance from other sugar producing nations such as India, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.
The Albion packaging facility is expected to become operational by the end of this year as the industry seeks to become more diversified and value-added in its production line.

Sugar, it must be said, has had its period of glory and at one time was even regarded as ‘King Sugar’. But times have changed and its dominance over the economy has been progressively diminished due to a number of factors, some outside of our control.
The precipitate decline in the preferential price of sugar on the European market no longer obtained which had taken a severe toll on the competitiveness of the industry. Despite all of this, the PPP/C administration has been taking a menu of measures not only to keep the industry afloat but to increase sugar production beyond current levels.

Despite the growing impact of oil revenues on the economy, the agricultural sector still remains the backbone of the Guyana economy both in terms of employment opportunities and foreign exchange earnings. This is why any attempt to downplay the sector as the previous APNU+AFC administration attempted to do was not only short-sighted but an act of downright folly. The sugar industry has always been an integral part of our collective existence, both from a political and sociological standpoint.
The way forward for Guyana is to increase production and productivity in all sectors and to enhance the country’s competitiveness on the international market. In this regard, the measures taken by the PPP/C to reduce the cost of energy by way of the oil and gas facility and the several other initiatives are forward-looking and commendable.

These developments are part of a much bigger developmental framework intended to catapult the country as a key player on the international market-place. The President has indicated plans of making the East Coast Demerara a major developmental corridor and hinted of the viability of having railway connectivity between the East Coast Demerara and the East Bank.
These are all visionary thinking on the part of the PPP/C administration. Guyana is now firmly set along the path of sustainable development and human progress. As pointed out by President Ali, it is important that we honour the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for a better and more dignified society and draw inspiration from their struggles and sacrifices.