Thousands attend grand inauguration ceremony; President promises not to fail Guyana

By Jomo Paul

The Independence Day celebrations saw cultural displays from hundreds of youths and the President being ceremoniously inaugurated by Amerindian’s doing a dance that signified their acceptance of the new President.

To put the icing on the cake there was also beautiful displays from the disciplined services – Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force, both of which put on a marvelous display of discipline throughout the celebrations even as the rain poured.

It should also be noted that the Stadium was filled with hundreds of thousands of Guyanese who flocked the stands, field and the outside tarmac of the stadium eager to be a part of the historic celebration.

Also present at the ceremony was the Barbadian Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and former People’s Progressive Party/Civic Human Services and Social Security Minister, Jennifer Webster.

President Granger in his address said as a President he does not see himself failing the people of Guyana.

“You did not let me down and I shall not let you down,” the President told the thousands of persons gathered adding that Guyanese must recognize the all-important role they play in the well being of the country.

“Violent crime is scaring away investors, driving away the intellectual elite….No good government will tolerate this…people must realize that the greater role lies in the economy, said President Granger.

He said that there was no reason for Guyanese to be poor and subject to suffering when the country has an abundance of natural resources waiting to be tapped into.

The President was also very pellucid that wealth should not only exist on the coast land but also in the hinterlands and other parts of Guyana.

“Guyana cannot be one nation if gross disparity persists between the hinterland and coast land…between the rich and the poor,” he said.

The President also signaled his intention to work towards the strengthening of ties between Guyana and Caricom and South American countries. He said that Guyana will then use those fortified ties to introduce local products and services into those international markets.

“Our diplomats must open more markets for us to sell our goods. We must make more jellewery from our gold and diamond. We must make more world class furniture from our timber. We must make more packaged foods from our fish and our fruits. We must make things and sell things to our Caribbean brothers if we are to prosper,” the President said.

He also pointed out that one of the more important tasks of the new Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge was to ensure that Guyana was in full compliance with the Treaty of Chaguaramas.

 Meanwhile, addressing the audience during the preliminary speeches was Sir Shridath Ramphal, who recalled being present 49 years ago at the Independence Inauguration Ceremony on May 26, 1966.

He noted that 49 years later “Guyana was on the cusp of a great future if the country could put political bickering behind and live the national motto of “One People, One Nation, One Destiny.”

Sir Shridath was Guyana’s first foreign minister after the country gained independence in 1966.

He added that the challenges and issues of local politics should not be allowed to lessen the country’s unity.

“We must not let the vicissitudes of politics and the discord inherent in the democratic process diminish our oneness. At moments of transition like this, it is the duty of all of us to work hard at destroying the myth of otherness and cultivating by conscious effort a reality of oneness that is our historical birthright.”

Congratulations were also offered by the elderly statesman to the new government for what he described as, “its courageous first stop in pursuit of the endless journey of national unity.” He added that such unity needed to be the credo and ethic of governance”.