THE 2008 GUYANESE PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR AWARD

Dec 28, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Today I have to make the choice of Guyanese personality of the year, something that I have done. For those of my readers who may not be aware of this feature, as the year comes to an end I usually give my choice as to the person in Guyana who I believe should be considered as either the Man or Woman of the year.
It is of course not an amoral choice. I have to choose those who have done well for Guyana and have impacted on the lives of a great many Guyanese.
The choice this year was not easy. I was, however, fortunate in that I did not have to bother about too many ministers of the government making the grade since only one of them remained in the ranking as the year came to a close.
I would like, however, to give honorable mention to one minister of government whose hands on style, I believe, set him apart from his compatriots, and who did a fantastic job in bringing relief to thousands on the East Coast who suffered from excessive high tides during this year.
It was this minister’s personal style of being on the ground and directing work that helped to ensure that the suffering of residents was quickly relieved and that a solution was found. This minister has also shown that he has the guts necessary to make bold and decisive decisions as was evident in his role in sticking to his point in relation to the Cubana monument site and the relocation of the car park.
Minister Robeson Benn was outstanding this year but unfortunately he is not my choice for Personality of the Year Award for 2008.
Three other State officials were also considered. The first two are the heads of the police and the army whose leadership removed potent threats to Guyana’s security situation. These men were responsible for the dismantling of the much feared Fineman gang, which must count as the achievement of the year. However, I could not give both men the award for Joint Personality of the Year since I also had to consider that it was under their watch that Guyana suffered three massacres for this year.
The third State personality I wish to mention is Justice Ian Chang who made some very brave and incisive rulings this year, two of which stand out. The first was his decision to grant a murder accused bail, an important local precedent which I believe sets him apart as a profound jurist and one whose rulings will, I am quite confident, be upheld by higher courts and which will be eventually quoted and be referred to by other leading legal luminaries.
His most recent decision in which he quite persuasively held that while there is no absolute right to a broadcast license but also that the State has an obligation to act objectively and efficiently in considering applications will, I believe, in the long run do more to ensure the liberalization of the media than anything else. He was a very strong contender for the award.
I must also make mention of the late editor in chief of the Stabroek News, Mr. David de Caires. David lost his life this year fighting to save his newspaper. He fought with everything he had and his courage is something to be admired. I, however, cannot name him as the Personality of the Year because I did not agree with most of the arguments he offered in defence of his crusade.
The top infrastructural development for this year was of course the Berbice River Bridge. In fact, it can safely be said that it is best thing to happen to Berbice for some time. This bridge would not have been possible had it not been for the constant advocacy by Ravi Dev. But it is not him that I wish to credit today.
Instead, I wish to pay tribute to the CEO of the Berbice River Bridge Company, Ms. Geeta Singh-Knights. This business executive has made perhaps the single most important contribution to the development of Guyana this year and must be duly recognized.
She would have undoubtedly copped the top prize had it not been once again for one single act of generosity, which moved me to tears. Children are our pride and joy and there is no better good which can be done than to answer the wishes of a child.
This year some children were asked to write letters to Santa Claus indicating a friend who they felt needed a gift from Santa. A great many letters came in and the promoters were faced with the problem of disappointing thousands of children.
Anyone who has had children will tell you this is the most devastating thing you can do to a child: disappoint his or her expectations. We were faced therefore with a real tragedy in this country in which thousands of children would not have had their wishes answered.
However, when the publisher of this newspaper heard about this situation he decided that he had to act and he volunteered to make the wishes of almost 2000 children come true. It was a wonderful thing that was done by Glenn, something never done before and something which I do not believe will be replicated for some time to come.
I have always admired great human achievements. But what I admire most is the generosity of the human heart. This year we built a bridge across the Berbice River. It was a fantastic human achievement.
But the bridges that are far more important are those of the human heart, and through his singular act of kindness, Glenn Lall has shown that he has a heart that is bigger than the Berbice River Bridge.
He is the undisputable choice of this column’s Personality of the Year Award for 2008.

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