Political Independence did not come easily or cheaply

May 29, 2016 APNU Column, Features / Columnists, News

(Selected quotations from President David Granger on Guyana’s Independence)

Most Guyanese living today were not yet born when this country became independent on 26th May 1966. They may not have had personal experience of living in a colony such as British Guiana.
European colonialism may be seen as the quest for sources of raw materials, the acquisition of markets for manufactured and other goods, and the opening of opportunities for capital investment. The colonial system included the political domination, economic exploitation and cultural subordination of the subject peoples.
Guyanese sought to reverse these conditions. Independence meant that the people who lived in a colony, thereafter, would exercise sovereignty over their territory, select their own representatives to govern them and determine their own policy for economic, educational and social development. In short, independence meant that Guyana would no longer be controlled by Britain.
Independence was about transformation – the changing of subjects into citizens; the preservation of the integrity of institutions such as the National Assembly, Judiciary and the Public Service; the organisation of commerce, currency, industries and taxation; the ownership and use of natural resources and arrangements for the common defence and the safety of our people.
Political Independence was neither the work of one person nor one party, nor was it a sudden event. It was a process that took place over a long period of several decades. It was the climax of a popular movement. Legislators, workers, ex-servicemen and ordinary people agitated to achieve political Independence. We are heirs of their efforts, successors to their struggles and, now, possessors of their patrimony.
Changing the name of a country was a simple matter. Revolutionising the economy, indeed, was a difficult and never-ending process. This Year – 2016 – is an opportunity to hasten our economic development.
Political Independence did not come easily or cheaply. It came only after decades of distress, distrust and, tragically, deaths. Let us not now dwell on the pain of the past, but look with faith to the future. Let the sacrifice of those who struggled and died inspire us today and guide generations to come tomorrow and beyond.
We became independent and made a covenant among ourselves that we would, in a free state, aspire to enjoy a better life than we had to endure in a colony. We toiled to repair a country that had been damaged by disunity and division. We strove to create a community of comity and unity. We sought to satisfy the needs of our people by expanding public education, health, communications and transportation services.
The ‘Independence Covenant,’ therefore, remains unconsummated. Our task today is to complete our mission by securing, within the next decade, a ‘good life’ for all Guyanese. The necessity of economic transformation cannot be denied or delayed. We must act resolutely to implement the reforms that are essential to building a resilient economy — one that is adaptive to the changes and responsive to the challenges of the global economy.
Our vision is for every Guyanese to be able to enjoy a ‘good life.’ Achieving a ‘good life’ is not a wish or a dream. It requires greater equality of opportunity in order to attain economic growth. A ‘good life’ is about removing inequalities and providing opportunities for every citizen to be the best he or she can be.
Our Golden Jubilee is a propitious moment for all Guyanese to put an end to hateful and unhelpful political discord, disaffection and disunity. Our Golden Jubilee is a golden opportunity for us to cement national unity at the political level and at the economic level.
This Year – 2016 – must bring us closer to the goal of realising our mandate to remake Guyana as the most beautiful, most bountiful and greenest country in the Caribbean. Our mission is to enable everyone to enjoy a ‘good life’ which they deserve as citizens of an independent state. Our aim is to ensure that the ‘Independence Covenant’, conceived fifty years ago, is consummated.

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Political Independence did not come easily or cheaply

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