GUYANA is today celebrating 58 years as an independent nation; to say that Guyana has made significant strides since the attainment of political independence would be an understatement.
The entire nation can now breathe a sigh of relief that we have reached a point in our national life where the full meaning and significance of a free and independent country is now being realised, thanks to the visionary leadership of President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and the PPP/C administration.

True enough, we have had our full share of challenges and adversities, especially during the immediate pre-and post-independence period. Intrigues and political machinations to deny political independence by vested interests, both local and foreign, were many. But in the end, we triumphed and the country is in a much better place today than at any period in our history.

Yet there are some in our midst who still harbour nostalgic sentiments of the ‘good old days’ when we were forced to pay allegiance to Her Majesty’s Government because of our colonial status. Our immediate post-independence years, it has to be admitted, cannot be counted among the best, characterised as they were by rigged elections and the destruction of the democratic fabric of the society by the Burnham regime.
One consequence of that situation was a steep decline in the living and working conditions of the Guyanese people. Indeed, the country deteriorated incrementally from one of the most prosperous in the Anglo-phone Caribbean during the 1960s to the poorest country in the western hemisphere by the end of the 1980s.

It was not until the return of democratic rule on October 5, 1992, that the full meaning of independence began to be truly felt and experienced by the Guyanese people. To a large extent, the country during the period of PNC rule was perceived by the international community as a ‘pariah’ state. Guyanese were forced to seek ‘greener pastures’ in North America and other neighbouring countries to survive.

All of that has now changed. The international profile of Guyana has changed and the country is now ranked among the most progressive in the region and for that matter, the world. The country is playing a lead role in terms of food and energy security and climate change.

In this regard, full credit must be given to our independence heroes, more particularly former President Dr. Cheddi Jagan who can rightly be regarded as the architect of our independence struggle. Unfortunately, for reasons beyond his control, independence was not granted under his leadership but the burning passion for a free and independent Guyana continued to burn bright until democracy and freedom were finally attained in October 1992. Dr. Jagan was elected as the first democratically elected Executive President of Guyana.

As we reflect on our independence and the difficult road we traversed, we have every reason to be proud of our achievements. The country is poised for monumental changes and development. At an even more fundamental level, we have risen beyond the bitterness of our past and the country is moving inexorably in the direction of ‘One Guyana’ as envisaged by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

Fifty-eight years of independence may not be that significant in the long sweep of history, but it is more than enough to give us that sense of conviction that we are on the right path in the realisation of our quest for a peaceful, progressive and prosperous Guyana.