2012 REPUBLIC DAY MESSAGES

Feb 23, 2012 News

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GOVT. HAS GREAT PLANS TO TAKE GUYANA TO NEW HEIGHTS
Message from His Excellency Donald Ramotar on the Occasion of Republic Day
I extend warm greetings to all Guyanese at home and abroad on this the forty-second anniversary of our

republic. This is a very special time for all Guyanese, and is marked by great festivities celebrating our national culture.
This national culture has been weaved from the strands of the various ethnic groups which constitute our people. Let us celebrate this diversity by being part of the many events that are being held to commemorate this year’s anniversary of our status as a republic.
To those visiting Guyana to be part of our grand celebrations, I extend a warm welcome. I extend best wishes to you and hope that you will have a great and enjoyable time in our beautiful country and amongst our friendly and hospitable people. As we celebrate our republic, let us promote and emphasize the things that unite us as we move closer to our Motto of “One People, One Nation, One Destiny.”
We have a country to build and our human resources are especially critical as we enter this important stage of nation- building, one in which every Guyanese will be expected to participate meaningfully in and share equitably in its benefits.
My government has great plans to leapfrog the development of Guyana to new heights. This will be done in a democratic and inclusive framework, one in which the views of all citizens will be respected and their concerns addressed. I invite all to be part of this historic process.
Let us work together to build a more resilient, peaceful, democratic, united and prosperous Guyana!
Happy Republic Day!

 

 

 

 

A PARTNERSHIP FOR NATIONAL UNITY (APNU)

A Partnership for National Unity (A.P.N.U.) extends ‘Republic Day’ greetings to all Guyanese as the nation celebrates the forty-second anniversary of becoming a Republic.
Guyanese! This National Day gives us an opportunity to review the progress we have made towards strengthening our economic independence, improving the quality of governance and intensifying our social cohesion. It is also an opportunity to renew our vow, in the words of our national pledge:
“…to be loyal to my country, to be obedient to the laws of Guyana, to love my fellow citizens and to dedicate my energies towards the happiness and prosperity of Guyana.”
Guyanese! We confidently declared our country a “Co-operative Republic,” determined to consolidate our independence and to mould our destiny. We live today, however, in a nation that is still faced with many challenges.
National unity still eludes us; a broken education system throws thousands of dropouts onto the street without jobs; our national university is being strangled by insufficient funds; the high cost of living pushes increasing numbers of our people into poverty; annual floods devastate our farms; rampant banditry in the hinterland and piracy on the coastland claim the lives of our miners and fishermen; workers are forced to strike to secure their rights;  corruption in the government robs the national treasury.
Guyanese! Let us all resolve on this Republic anniversary to restore our national pride. Let us return our nation to the path of progress and achieve “A Good Life for all Guyanese.”
Guyana’s future lies in our hands. We owe a duty to future generations to continue to build a country in which they will be treated equally and enjoy the benefits of a robust economy and a strong democracy.
May God bless Guyana and help us to make a reality of our national motto: “One People, One Nation and One Destiny.”

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PEOPLE’S NATIONAL CONGRESS REFORM (PNCR)

On this the 42nd Anniversary of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, the nation is faced, for the first time in its history, with the challenges which emerged from the results of the 28 November 2011 General and Regional Elections – a minority Government and a majority Opposition. This result provides the political opportunity to fashion a governance arrangement which recognizes that Guyana is for all Guyanese and that our only hope for success is by grasping the imperative of working co-operatively together for the common good of all Guyanese.
Since the ushering in of our Republican status in 1970, the nation has experienced periods of high optimism for a bright and prosperous future for all Guyanese. However, that optimism has been dashed, by the experiences over the last 20 years, as the dark forces of corruption, greed, criminality, racism and the scourge of narco and people trafficking have asserted their stifling presence.
The criminal enterprises have become emboldened and reckless. Armed robberies, piracy and brutal murders have dominated the daily news and the security and safety of our citizens seem to be rapidly eroding. The incidence of domestic violence and suicides continue to increase.
As the levels of unemployment and destitution rise, our young people continue to despair for their future in the land of their birth. Public servants, nurses, teachers, law enforcement personnel, pensioners all cry out for better pay, benefits and conditions of service. The education and health systems are in a state of collapse. The failures of our D&I systems impose heavy economic burdens on our farmers and coastal communities along with the inevitable increase in the prices for vegetables and the cost of living. The burdens of taxation continue to be oppressive and a disincentive for enterprise.
This is the landscape which confronts us on the 42nd Anniversary of our Republic.
The questions we must ponder are:
Have we matured sufficiently as a people to equip us to deal successfully with the challenges of governance which we now face?
Do we have the political will and commitment to bring about the changes needed for the development and prosperity of our Dear Land?
Are we ready to realize the dream embodied in our national motto “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”?
Guyanese are a resilient people and our history has shown that we are capable of overcoming the adversity we now face. The fact that there was a decisive vote for change on 28th November, 2011, gives cause for hope for our future.
Happy Mashramani to all Guyanese!

FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS OF GUYANA (FITUG)  

How does the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) which represents the majority of Guyana’s workers – labouring in the vital sectors of our economy – greet the nation’s forty-second Republican Anniversary? By recognizing the significance of national milestones and by reflecting on how well the period of 42 years has treated us as a nation.
There was joy, agreement, and high expectations when we saw a President replacing a British Monarch as our Head-of-State. Guyanese expected that the four-year Independent Nation would see accelerated progress in every sector of our economy and governmental constitutional arrangements.
Kofi’s one-year 1763 Rebellion against the Dutch in Berbice provided us with a proud, historical and inspirational context within which to locate our February 1970 aspirations as a new Republic. A Co-operative Republic, which by the definition, sought to place power in the people and their representatives in the Parliament and government.
Our achievements since 1970, FITUG feels, have been compromised too often, by political gamesmanship, and by an inability by too many of our political and civic leaders to put country first. The aims of both from 1970 to 1992 and after have been jeopardized too often – with the fracture between FITUG and the TUC being just one manifestation of our failure to be more cohesive in the people’s interest.
FITUG must now recognize the reality within this Republic Anniversary 2012. The re-configuration of the Parliamentary authority and all it means. But, FITUG keeps the records of all the Assembly’s parties’ manifestoes. The Big Three representatives all promised betterment for the working-class. We hold them all to those ideals. There should be no impediment therefore to workers’ improvements.
Any gridlock, any non-compromise must be scrutinized for the perpetrators of injustice and retrogression. If this anniversary is to really mean something, let it herald unselfish co-operation amongst our elected representatives. That example will inspire all our people who will no doubt, embrace the sentiment in the theme of FITUG’s Mashramani Costume Band.
“FEELING AN IMMEDIATE TEMPO TO UNITE GUYANESE” (FITUG)
HAPPY MASHRAMANI 2012! HAPPY REPUBLIC ANNIVERSARY!

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GUYANA AGRICULTURAL AND GENERAL WORKERS UNION (GAWU)  

Another anniversary of Guyana’s Republican status has rolled around. This week we observe forty-two (42) years since that February 23rd when, by national consensus, we replaced the British Monarch as Head of State with our own President. For a Republic connotes power by and for the people, with no place for any real power residing in a foreign monarch – especially one who can symbolize a colonial past.
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) joins with the rest of the nation to observe this milestone in status. There are Guyanese who utilize their right to question what is there to celebrate after forty-two (42) years as a republic. GAWU recognises and respects that right to enquire but there is nothing wrong with observing if even some are not given to celebration.
The Union joins with those who wish to reflect on the challenges, setbacks, achievements and progress over the past four decades and more of Republicanism.
As a Union representing the largest bloc of workers in vital segments of our national economy, we assess the past 42 years within the context of progress for the working-class, the quality of life, industrial peace which promotes economic investment and productive activity and national security in all its manifestations.
Alas, the 42-year old Report Card will show setbacks and stagnation in the pre-1992, the 1970-1990 period. The restoration of democracy in late 1992 then presented hope and promise, challenges and achievement. From organized criminal enterprise in 2002, the Great Floods of 2005 and political mischief between 1998 and 2006, Guyana had to weather many storms which threatened and disrupted the peaceful aspirations of our members and all the nation’s workers, with the past decade proving the most challenging. However, perhaps drawing inspiration from the courage of the heroes of the February, 1763 Berbice Rebellion, Guyanese prevailed. Reasonably shrewd economic management by government helped us survive a global financial recession, even European Union reversals for our sugar sector. International investors have returned to explore our potential in oil, in other minerals, in the ICT sector and in medical care facilities.
The consequences of the November 28, 2011 elections are already proving that our elected officials are obliged to find unprecedented ways to collaborate in our interest. To do otherwise would be to betray our people’s electoral and long-term wishes.
This 42nd Anniversary does find Guyana at the crossroads. GAWU pledges its co-operation to those who would convince us that they do have the People’s Republic at heart.
Reflect, celebrate within the Mashramani festival of activities, then hold our leaders accountable.
Happy Mashramani, a reflective Republic Anniversary 2012

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