Former President Bharrat Jagdeo, evidently hit a raw nerve when, at the funerary services for veteran religious leader, social activist and politician Reepu Daman Persaud, he spoke out against a “resurgence of anti-Indian racism” in Guyana. Some tried to deflect from his thesis by dragging in the red herring of “time and place”. As we commemorate Arrival Day (May 5th) when Indians first arrived into the then colony of British Guiana, we can appreciate that the occasion was supremely appropriate. Reepu Daman, after all, had been a staunch advocate of…
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Caricom reset
In view of the increasingly serious challenges facing the Caribbean economically and socially, it is in the interest of all the member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to recognise that it was in cognisance of the need for collective action to confront such challenges, that the institution was launched in 1973. Specific commitments, which between states are embodied in institutions – in this case Caricom – were made by the founding fathers and these were accepted by the later members. In its latest formulation, the objectives of Caricom were…
Read MoreCapital controls
The entire premise of the IMF’s conditionalities imposed on our economy in 1989, dubbed the “Washington Consensus”, was that with the liberalisation of our financial sector – meaning removing all controls from the flow of funds to and from our financial institutions – we would be more attractive to funds for development. At the time, because of our debilitating lack of foreign reserves, we had imposed stringent capital controls over our financial system in a desperate effort to keep our national financial head above water. The same conditionalities had been…
Read MoreVenezuela: Tense victory
Because of the different trajectories the Anglophone Caribbean (now grouped in Caricom) and Latin America were forced into because of their competing imperialistic forbears, the former rarely took great interest in the domestic affairs of the latter. But that was certainly not the case with the presidential election in Venezuela held last Sunday – at least among the political classes. There were definitely sighs of relief in many Caribbean capitals, especially in Guyana and Jamaica, when on Monday morning, Nicolas Maduro, the hand-picked successor of Hugo Chávez, was declared by…
Read MoreJob creation vs poverty alleviation
APNUs point man on economics, Mr Carl Greenidge, charged that the government in its budget was not focusing sufficiently on poverty reduction. Making this charge against a background, as outlined by the finance minister last week, of manageable public debt, declining fiscal deficits, recurrent account surpluses, low inflation, a healthy banking sector and persistent growth of the GDP for the past six years even as the sugar industry is unable to attract workers, has to be a statement based on ideology rather than reality. Mr Greenidge is evidently still holding…
Read MoreCelebrating our diversity
Phagwah or Holi is not just a public holiday in Guyana, but like Christmas, it has become an all-Guyana festival. As our newspaper showed, Holi started early in our schools. Our children, some having probably learnt of the significance of the festival from their social studies, engaged in re-enactments of the legend behind Holi, as well as created the kaleidoscope of colours on their bodies and faces that the festival promotes. It appears that our premier school, Queen’s College, led the way in this respect, with children of all backgrounds,…
Read MoreGuyana’s human development
With the release of the 2013 Human Development Report (HDR) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it is hoped that the data on Guyana and the recommendations (implicit or otherwise) will be used by the politicians to guide their posture and position in the budget presentation, which is scheduled to be made soon. The HDR represents a bold attempt initiated in 1990 to provide a more nuanced picture of the ‘good life’ than that provided by the then prevailing metric of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It was, in a…
Read MoreConfidence in our tourism product
By Jainarine Deonauth – Guyana’s tourism industry is taking off and surely the country is increasingly becoming recognised regionally and internationally as one of the most attractive and unique new destinations in the world. Unlike our Caribbean counterparts that offer typical sun, sand and sea tourism – Guyana has a different type of tourism product with its irresistible combination of fascinating and breathtaking natural beauty, pristine Amazonian rainforests, immense waterfalls, amazing wildlife, rich cultural heritage, and some of the most hospitable and friendly people in the world. In essence, what…
Read MoreOur civic duty
It seems that a few media houses in Guyana are bent on creating confusion in the society, as they have been engaged in a relentless campaign to discredit everything positive that is happening in the country. In the process, they have launched a number of unjustifiable attacks on key public officials, some of whom are not even politicians, but they work daily to support national projects that will redound to the benefit of all. This is quite a disturbing trend that is emerging and must certainly not go unchecked, as…
Read MoreCheddi Jagan: Transformational leader
On March 6th, 16 years ago, Dr Cheddi Jagan was cremated at the foreshore of Babu John, not far from the village of Port Mourant where he spent his idyllic childhood, described so vividly in his classic, “The West on Trial”. From Berbice he proceeded to Queen’s College in Georgetown and then on to the USA, where he qualified as a dentist and returned to Georgetown during WWII. Today, there are some who answer in the negative as to whether he was a “transformational leader”. For them to answer that…
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