THERE are many indexes that nations have used to measure how well they’re doing. Given that today marks 58 years of Guyana’s independence, it’s a good time for Guyanese to take stock of where they are now and the direction their nation is heading.
There is no doubt that Guyana’s economy is vibrant, thriving and healthy. I am not going to bore readers with statistics. Just look around. Homes and businesses are being constructed on a scale that is rapidly transforming yesterday’s empty spaces into bustling housing schemes. More Guyanese are homeowners today than at any other time in our nation’s history.
Our government is stable, transparent and committed to the principles of democracy. And although we are still not yet out of the woods regarding the bare-faced attempt to steal the 2020 vote, our policy is in fairly good shape. Our leaders are hitting and exceeding the targets they defined when they came into office in 2020.
People have jobs and a barrel full of opportunities for training. Post-secondary education will soon be free. There is no shortage of food items. Count the number of Chinese-owned supermarkets in your neighbourhood. Many can still recall the days when simple folks had to be card-carrying members of the PNC to scrape the bottom of a barrel for a small tin of sardine. Gone are the days of the “black market” for basic food items such as onions, potatoes and flour. Yes, flour.
The PPP’s food security agenda is on track to make the people of this nation the most well-fed in the hemisphere. There isn’t anything wrong with a full belly and a happy smile. Eat and be merry. By the end of 2025 our country will produce so much of our own food that we are expected to save more than US$150 million by reducing the amount of food items we import, says President Mohamed Irfaan Ali just a few days ago. We are on track to produce our own livestock feed which will slash the prices of poultry and meat.
In the 1970s, the PNC insulted the intelligence of Guyanese when it laid claim to the title of director Manoj Kumar’s 1974 Indian Hindi-language action drama film, “Roti, Kapada aur Makaan,” starring Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman. Loosely translated as “Feed, Cloth and Shelter,” the phrase was made popular by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the 1960s. The PNC stole the concept and Prime Minister Forbes Burnham tried to piggy-back on the Bollywood flick to convince Guyanese, particularly those of East Indian descent, that they ought to support his programme in the face of overwhelming evidence that his “Roti, Kapada aur Makaan” was a slogan bereft of a meaningful plan. Things went so badly for the PNC that Guyanese began heading for the nearest exit by the plane loads.
In the last three years of the PPP/C’s management of the country, thousands of Guyanese have re-migrated, buoyed by confidence in a vision backed by a solid plan. It is darn near impossible to argue with success. Success breathes optimism and that mood lifts the human spirit and ultimately induces a positive outlook on life and impacts what Guyana’s future might look like.
Darren Nurse, Managing Director of Griffin Engineering Inc., a construction company that has operations across the country says, “This is the time where somebody should be glad to be alive and living in Guyana. We are seeing development on an unprecedented scale, from infrastructure, education and healthcare.”
The President of the Tourism Hospitality Association of Guyana, Dee George, has seen a tremendous uptick in her sector. “Tourism is here to stay because we are the host and hostesses of Guyana and we understand our role at this special time and place that we find ourselves in our history,” George said.
Anita Rampersaud, CEO of Prestige Management Consultants and Catalyst Coaching Guyana, says this country is now on the regional and international map like never before in its history.
“When I was a little girl, the opportunities that young people have today, I certainly didn’t have then. I am so excited for where we’re going in the future. I think we are going to be transformed as a nation and I think we’re going to be on the world stage and everybody will know who Guyana is.”
The worst attitude any of us could afford to adopt is to be a straddler. Straddlers are those who see success but refuse to embrace it. It is to witness development and opportunities galore, but insist on receiving handouts. It is to cling stubbornly to a past that promised prosperity but delivered empty slogans. To be a straddler is to grudgingly acknowledge the government is doing everything right, but for some petty, trivial and tribalistic reason, we aren’t going to get onboard.
