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The faith of this country rests totally in the hands of our young people

Jun 19, 2011 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

Address by Sheila Holder, MP and Prime Ministerial Candidate at the Party’s Youth event held at the Hotel Pegasus on Friday June, 17, 2011
***
I am honoured tonight to be in your company, to listen to your voices, to take note of your ambitions and to solicit your views on a development course for our beloved Guyana.
It is my view that the faith of this country rests totally in the hands of our young people, because of some fundamental reasons:
Firstly, it has always been the young generation that embraces change. As young people my generation did and so could you.
We did so in the kinds of music, dance and art we made popular and by the value we placed in being financially independent.
The message I need to give you is that change must begin with you, not with someone else. If you want peace and harmony then it must be you who are prepared to be the peacemaker.
If you want justice to prevail in our society, then it must be you who are prepared to treat fairly with others.
It is your generation that must effectively abolish the scourge of ethnic polarization perpetuated by racial voting patterns.
It is racial voting that has given all the governments in Guyana the right to do wrong because Guyanese have rewarded them with their vote on the basis of race rather than on the basis of their policies and performance.
Guyana’s social, economic and political future rests on changing this pattern of voting.
The Alliance For Change ever since its birth has articulated the need for getting rid of racial politics.
Your input and role as a component of this party will therefore be most valued.
Secondly, it will be the herculean task of your generation to take up the execution of Guyana’s economic development programme, which as a party we expect to jump start after the elections.
This responsibility, I believe, underscores the paramount importance of a better education system in order to equip your generation with the capacity to fulfill this mandate.
I make that point because there is need to put emphasis on stimulation of our economy in order for this country to be able to employ, empower and integrate our youths into Guyana’s development thrust. In our Action Plan, which I hope you will take the time to read and critique, we have explained a studied vision for the stimulation of the economy.
It involves the crafting of an entrepreneurial State, the catalyst for the generation of national wealth.
Without the creation of such wealth there can be no cure for the curse of joblessness, poverty and underdevelopment that exist in every corner of our society.
I would like to take this opportunity to, on behalf of the leadership of the AFC, implore you to rise to the occasion by vigorously pursuing your individual preparation and collective empowerment for this task.
This empowerment is crucial to your invaluable role as I see it. It involves the maximization of your potential at the technical and vocational levels, at the CSEC level, the undergraduate level as well as the post graduate levels of the education system. All skills are necessary for the process and should be valued.
In closing, let us be reminded that our society would be the worse off were we not to encourage training in the arts, music, drama, sculpting and so on.
Such will only be realized by hard work, perseverance and commitment.
There can be no short cuts or quick fixes to success. Success, I submit, is the product of tireless and unending work.
Quick fixes sometimes appear attractive but such attraction is usually fleeting.
Moreover, and in conclusion, I wish to entreat you to nurture and cultivate in your hearts, an affinity towards selfless service.
Selfless service is the greatest form of patriotism. Such affinity will open whole new vistas of friendship and camaraderie channeled in the pursuance of societal upliftment.
I submit to you that such a commitment to service will constitute an important pillar of our nation’s development.
I close with an exhortation of a once outstanding statesman, John F. Kennedy: “With a good conscience our only reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forward to lead the land we love, asking his Blessing and his help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”
I am indeed proud of you, and expect much in the future.
Thank you.

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