Dear Editor,

THERE are myriad reasons why Dr Bharrat Jagdeo’s legacy should be tangibly lauded and that the masterpiece of Guyana’s infrastructural achievement should be aptly named: the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge.

This great visionary leader not only served as the President of Guyana from 1997 to 2011, but he also held a number of global leadership positions in the areas of sustainable development, green growth and climate change and performed these with distinction.

In fact, Time Magazine named him as one of their Heroes of the Environment in 2008 and in 2010 he was awarded the United Nations Champion of the Earth award and was asked by the Secretary General to serve on his High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Financing. These are just a few of the plethora of international accolades he received.

It was during Dr Jagdeo’s tenure as President that he initiated major economic and social reforms which saw Guyana undergoing strong and sustainable socioeconomic growth.

External debts were reduced by more than 50% and the reserves tripled. All the sectors saw unprecedented growth, as the country moved to a high-income country.

Today, having successfully ensured the removal of the cancerous Coalition Government, Guyana is now classified as a high-income country. Guyanese were enjoying a higher standard of living than ever before and Guyanese started to enjoy vacations abroad. Guyanese have much more to be grateful for to this great statesman and patriot.

His fight for Guyana’s freedom from 2015 to 2020 from the tentacles of the APNU+AFC Coalition was remarkable, and will always be forever indelibly etched in the memory of every freedom-loving Guyanese, both at home and abroad.

The Coalition embarked on the continuation of the PNC’s dictatorial rule as soon as they were sworn in after the 2015 General and Regional Elections, and immediately Dr Jagdeo rose to accept the gauntlet to rid the nation of this scourge.

He had foreseen the destruction of the country under the rechristened PNC and on August 17, 2015, he was sworn in as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. The fight had begun in real earnest to save Guyana from another PNC dictatorship; and saved the country he did.

Moreover, the PPP/C saw the dire need for new leadership to accomplish the Herculean task at hand to slay the Lernaean Hydra which breathed poison across this land. Dr Jagdeo was elected as the General Secretary and as the saying goes– the rest is history.

He diligently and determinedly spent all his energy on a daily basis to expose the corruption, cronyism, mismanagement, squandermania and the multitudes of egregious wrongdoings the Coalition unleashed on all Guyanese.

His weekly press conferences hammered irretrievable spikes into the coffin of the Coalition, which culminated with the passing of the successful No Confidence Motion in December 2018 and which was upheld by the CCJ as legally valid after lengthy, costly, spurious and vexatious litigations by the Coalition.

However, this was just the beginning of the battle and the desperation of the Coalition to hold on to the reins of government began to gain momentum.

After an inordinately long delay, General and Regional Elections were held on March 2, 2020 and despite winning a majority, the PPP/C had to endure many attempts by the APNU+AFC to swear in Granger as the President, based on a fraudulent tabulation of Region Four which was rejected again. Again, Dr Jagdeo led the charge to stop these illegalities.

There were many attempts to perpetrate electoral fraud but at each and every turn, Dr Jagdeo ensured the failure of these attempts by seeking local and international interventions as well as legal alternatives. This man is a true patriot and fighter who is always relentless in his pursuit of good for his people.

He is indefatigable and until now he continues to serve our country as the true champion of the people, ensuring that the people are not fooled by false promises as in 2015. It is an open secret that the opposition parties are deathly afraid of his sharp, unmatchable acumen, hence some distasteful and unmeritorious criticisms.

His statesmanship, his vision, his love for the Guyanese people and his country is unmatchable; thus, naming the bridge ‘ The Bharrat Jagdeo River Bridge,’ is just a small token to honour this great man. A great man must be honoured whilst he is alive, not posthumously.

Yours sincerely,

Haseef Yusuf