Dear Editor,
The presidency under David Granger will undoubtedly be significantly different from that of previous head of states. Over the past two weeks or so there have been perhaps more changes and different ways of doing things than ever in Guyana’s history. The sweeping changes started at Parliament Building, where Mr Granger officially started his presidency. Every other head of state prior to this started theirs at State House, the official residence of the President of Guyana. That perhaps was the signal of changes to come and the attitude not to do things in the run-of-the-mill fashion like his predecessors, including Donald Ramotar, Bharrat Jagdeo and Cheddi Jagan.
Mr Granger’s swearing-in was a public affair in Georgetown on May 16. It was at that swearing-in he announced another grand public affair that no other president ever dreamed of − an official Inauguration Day − coinciding with Guyana’s 49th Independence Anniversary.
David Granger attended a church service on the Sunday following his swearing-in, an occasion to which he drove himself. His fleet of presidential cars (three), consists of two outriders and a luxury van, and he instructed the police not to use loud sirens when he is travelling.
Then a wave of community-mindedness swept over Georgetown in the past two weeks. This was undoubtedly kick-started by Granger’s massive transformation around the (lost and forgotten) Independence Arch on Brickdam in Georgetown.
Perhaps, too, tons of garbage have been removed from Georgetown over the past days, inspiring the involvement of companies, citizens and civic-minded Guyanese to bring back Georgetown to its renowned pride as the Garden City of the Caribbean. The sudden inspiration and interest and involvement of Guyanese into this clean-up effort caught on like wildfire. Psychologists can probably describe the background to these actions, but nevertheless they must be commended.
David Granger seems to be a simple man, setting a tone for what his presidency would be like. He is attired in a simple black or dark-coloured long-sleeved shirt, with a Guyana flag on the lapel. While the previous Donald Ramotar administration was focused on building large infrastructural projects to improve life and services in Guyana, Granger’s presidency will be a very simple one aimed at restoring Guyana to its nationalistic pride. It wasn’t a coincidence his first order of business as President of Guyana was to restore and clean up the areas in and around the Independence Arch. To many, including myself, that historic monument never existed. I never even mentioned it when teaching Forts and Monuments in Social Studies in my classrooms at school simply because I never knew the structure existed. Over the past days, the arch has become one of the most photographed areas of Georgetown. Corporate entities along with the present administration and private citizens have come on board to restore the arch, a gift from the Demerara Bauxite Company on Guyana’s achievement of Independence in 1966. I can hardly wait to visit this site during my next trip to Georgetown. David Granger has put this monument back into our textbooks and this historical fact back into our minds and hearts.
A few days ago, he renamed the Convention Centre at Liliendaal in honour of Guyana’s first executive president, Arthur Chung, who was Chinese.
Continuing to do things the Granger way, he renamed several ministries and created a few more that delineated their functions into a more specific way, for easier administration and monitoring I guess. However, this will create an additional cost to finance the payments of these new ministers and agencies.
He extended the invitation to the former administration to be a part of governing the country. I could be wrong but no other administration ever did that.
He moved the national Independence Day flag-raising celebrations from the National Park on Independence Eve (May 25) to the Independence Arch, much to the fury of the former administration and a few others. Also, he announced the return of national awards and medals billed for later this year. This feature whereby outstanding citizens are awarded these national accolades has been missing since 2011.
And earlier yesterday, Mr Granger announced he will pardon sixty prisoners in what would be an annual Independence Day presidential pardon. These sixty persons, the government stated, had committed minor and petty crimes over the past years. Many have applauded this move.
When heads were rolling from various agencies in 1992 after the PPP/C took government from the PNC, it was a tough time for many. Several political figures that belonged to the PNC were sent packing. David Granger has vowed to keep all if not most of the persons that held positions under the PPP/C administration, although they must now do their work in a professional manner. And so they must.
Change is always good but nevertheless hard to accept by many. Change is inevitable; we’ve heard that before. I find it hard sometimes to accept the changes of life, but I have seen that sometimes changes are not that bad.
As for the fruits of the changes that President Granger has made so far and those forthcoming, only time would tell. But Guyanese, I’m sure, are open and willing to accept such changes given the excitement and happiness being expressed across several sections of the Guyanese society.
As for the former administration, I believe the PPP/C should regroup, strategize and re-enter the Parliament, prepared to represent their support base in an effective way. I will not be looking forward to the PPP/C as an opposition party behaving like their colleagues in the last Parliament. I expect too a change from the PPP/C, and am confident that this party of the working-class people of Guyana, alive and strong for over half a century, can and will outperform the expectations of its supporters and all Guyanese.
Guyana’s history is much more than PPP, PNC and Burnham. We have stood out for our quality of education; flora; fauna; colonial architecture; exemplary service of our citizens over the decades, like Sir Sridath Ramphal and Baroness Valeria Amos; our national songs—second to none I’m sure across the world; and our national symbols—the pride of our nation—like the Independence Arch; historic buildings; some of the finest ancient architecture you would find anywhere in the world; and majestic Kaieteur Falls and our untouched, pristine forests. Guyana stands out as the only English- speaking country in South America—the so-called gateway to this content.
Even if the Granger presidency does not see the building of elaborate mega projects during the next five years, I would be very happy if national pride can be restored. That not only will lift the self-esteem of every single Guyanese, but I know that Mr Granger, a historian, is fully aware of the trickle-down effect it would have on our people. The man knows that a proud people, loyal and devoted to the symbols of our nationhood and to our country, would stir up within themselves that innate desire to work and build Guyana. You cannot buy that for a million dollars anywhere.
Yours faithfully,
Leon Suseran
