Dear Editor,
For far too long people of Region 10 have been denied a place at the decision-making table and what is rightly theirs. As children of Guyana it is time to plant on this land our nation’s economy. It is time to build this nation that would be great and for all to see. I say to you, it is time. Guyana says to us, it is time. And we, on May 11th must answer the call by voting for the APNU+AFC.
Let me tell you why we cannot let that key slip from our hands! On assuming office in January 2012, among the first thing I did as Regional Chairman, is stand with a placard in front of Parliament Buildings bringing to the nation’s attention the people’s desire to have their television station. My motivation was their bravery in demanding our constitutional right to freedom of expression, freedom of speech and moving to the court to have a broadcasting licence. When in December 2008 Justice Ian Chang ruled in favour of the people in the case brought by our own Norman Chapman and former Regional Chairman Mortimer Yearwood, that ruling said “…such a delay constituted a violation or infringement of [the] applicants’ right to freedom of expression under Article 146 of the Constitution….”
On the 21st August 2012, on the people’s behalf, I signed an agreement with central government. In this agreement the commitment was given to return to the people, within 14 days, the television station gifted by Green Construction. It has been more than 900 days and counting and central government refuses to return our station. Since the Jagdeo and Ramotar governments have failed the people, the people have an obligation to try another government and give the new government the opportunity to make it happen for them. It is time for change!
That 2012 Agreement, which secured the regional electricity supply and rates, also includes the establishment of an Economic Committee, where the government will partner with the Region to create a home-grown Plan for our development. The government continues to refuse to allow the region to make real this plan, because they refuse to allow us equal participation to the nation’s resources. They see us as opposition, ignoring that foremost we are Guyanese, we are taxpayers and our struggles and deprivation know no politics. This is discrimination and it is time to end it!
The Land Selection Committee, which is now in the hands of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), came out of the 2012 Agreement, though central government continues to put roadblocks in our way. Let me make this clear- I hold dear the principle of land to the tiller. And to this end the RDC under my watch has ensured lands to residents for homes and other developments. The Council held engagements with stakeholders to make the Region what its people envisioned- Clean and Prosperous. We have begun the work and must commit that onward, upward, we will ever grow.
Competitive regional football has returned to the Region and for the last two years the people of Region 10 have been able to participate in the tournament on 1st January (New Year’s Day) under the sponsorship of Banks DIH. We recognise the importance of sports to holistic wellbeing and development and ensure the residents are beneficiaries. We have advanced infrastructural development, including streets lights, notably on the Amelia’s Ward/Linden Highway. The Son Chapman tragedy is ensured its deserving respect, coming under the Regional Commemorative Committee. Our 18th July 2012 martyrs Shemroy Bouyea, Allan Lewis and Ron Somerset are part of the commemorative activities. They paid the ultimate price for the right to self-determination and involvement in decision-making. The dream liveth and the hope shall never die!
We have made regional government representative and accessible to the people, not only through an open door policy but also in community outreaches to hear directly from the people. To date I have done more than 200 community meetings. We have engaged in cooperative ventures and can boast of hydro farming which is providing income and opportunities for residents.
Our drive for development must continue and we can achieve much more when we remove the Jagdeo/Ramotar government on 11th May. Region 10 has the country’s highest unemployment. Though the Guyana Goldfields, through the RDC, did a massive recruitment drive in April 2014 which saw the employment of hundreds, unemployment remains a concern. It bothers me to see so much talent untapped…so much poverty…so much sadness, so much forced migration in order to eke out a living and provide for loved ones. We must get past the stage of barely surviving and arrive at the starting line to begin living our fullest!
Region 10 deserves quality education that would equip its children to compete in the 21st century economy. We deserve a health care system that works for us, not one that works against us. We deserve proper security, roads, irrigation, streetlights, water and a liveable cost of living. We deserve a society that respects and protects our seniors, our women and our children. We deserve a society where the family structure is restored to its pride of place, and parents are not forced to leave their children behind in order to provide for them. We need an economy that works for us, not against us. It is time!
Children of Guyana, there is more that unites us than divides us. Region 10 within the last few years has shown Guyana what National Unity looks like. In 2012 when we came together as one to fight for our survival and keep our electricity, we were sending a message that we know how to cooperate for Guyana. We, more than most can bear witness that when it comes to our wellbeing, mine is linked to yours and yours is linked to mine, and together we are entwined. Region 10 is living example of One People, One Nation, One Destiny.
Yours faithfully,
Sharma Solomon
