-President Ali says as he joined energetic revellers, the public for Mash Day festivities
-praises designers for impressive floats

LOVING, united, happy and prosperous were the four words President, Dr Irfaan Ali used on Sunday to describe Guyanese when he took to the city streets to view the 2025 Mashramani Float Parade and Costume Competition.

The Head of State took time out of his day to join members of the Guyanese public who were enjoying the country’s 55th Republic Anniversary celebrations.

Observed under the theme, “Expressing our Culture and Creativity as One Guyana,” this year’s festivities seemed part of a huge party as persons of all ages, races and religious backgrounds cluttered several streets of Georgetown to see the much-anticipated Mash Day float parade.

Speaking briefly, President Ali mentioned that the government has invested a lot in culture and creativity, and over the last two to three years, there have been great rewards.

According to the President, “More of our artistes are coming through. We’re having higher quality production, and, outside of our artistes, the cultural environment itself. We’re now going to work on building our first cultural market; we’re going to have a new museum, so we’re investing heavily into arts and culture, because that is an important part of who we are,” he said.
The Commander-in-Chief stated that this tells the world who we are as Guyanese, what we are made of, and what our customs and traditions are, as well as what our values are as a people.

Additionally, President Ali said there has been improvement in the quality, innovation and overall design of the floats on display.

He said: “If you look at the floats, the designers did a great job at looking into the story of our development, telling that story of our development, and bringing that story alive in the designs.”

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson, had previously mentioned that the ministry for the first time commenced preparations with designers for the float parade and funding had been secured early for this. This, according to him, allowed designers to visit the various ministries with their proposals.

Mashramani is one of the most highly anticipated displays of nationhood in Guyana. The government, in the 2025 trillion-dollar budget, allocated a whopping $3.6 billion to support ongoing developments in culture and the arts.

A billion dollars have been set aside for the new state-of-the-art museum and art gallery that President Ali spoke about on Sunday.

Alongside this, $800 million will be utilised for the cultural market in Palmyra at Canje, Berbice. The cultural market is set to be a rich educational and cultural hub to showcase the diversity and unity of Guyanese people.

The government also budgeted $97.3 million for music and the performing arts to operationalise the recording studio in Port Mourant, Berbice, and commence work on three additional studios in Regions Two, Three and 10, to support artistes and subsidise the cost of recording music. Last year, $2.7 billion was expended for the development of the arts and culture.

Mashramani 2025 saw hundreds of people congregating to take in a magnificent display of colour, creativity and energy.

The Guyana Chronicle spoke to two foreigners who have been residing in Guyana for the last eight months. The couple related that this was their first Mashramani experience, and they were not disappointed. They said that they have enjoyed all the floats they had seen thus far.

Prior to coming to Guyana, they were in Africa. According to them, the environment and culture in the two countries are vastly different.

They added that they are looking forward to the rest of their time here.

Meanwhile, another tourist, Majella (only name given), who has been here for the past 12 months, related that her family has been enjoying all that Guyana has to offer.

The mother of three said: “We love Guyana! The food, the people, beautiful nature, and we’re looking forward to staying here a lot longer.”