Mrs Janet Jagan demonstrated considerable resilience and fortitude in dealing with the vicissitudes she faced in daily life, the Guyana manufacturing and Services Association Limited (GMSA) said.

In a press release expressing condolences to the immediate family and close relatives of the former president who died last Saturday, the GMSA said she also demonstrated high moral and social values normally associated with quality citizenship.

Mrs Jagan was an icon in Guyanese political circles, beginning as an avid freedom fighter against colonialism in her adopted homeland, and resulting in the relentless drive towards independence, the release said.

It acknowledged the contribution she and her husband Dr Cheddi Jagan made to the social and economic development of the country.

The GMSA said its members and staff mourned her loss and remained resolute in their belief that her sterling efforts towards nation building would be maintained.

The release said the association fondly remembered her as the president who initiated the President’s Award for Export Achievement for manufacturers.