“HE has done his work and done it faithfully and well. We must now do ours…” the words of President Desmond Hoyte during his short statement at Sunday’s committal of the last mortal remains of Guyana’s first elected President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
The committal started precisely at 16:15 hrs. and lasted ninety minutes under overcast skies and drizzles at the Seven Ponds — Place of Heroes in the Botanic Gardens in Georgetown.
The glass capsule containing the remains of Burnham was draped in the national flag. There was also an Honour Guard in attendance made up of members of the Disciplined Services and representatives of the Women’s Revolutionary Socialist Movement, who later gave way to more members of the Forces who eventually bore the capsule to the place of entombment.
FUNERAL
Unlike the funeral service for Burnham last year August, the Methodist church was responsible for conducting the religious aspect of the ceremony with three priests officiating. Hymns were sung, and there were readings from the Bible and a sermon by one of the Methodist priests.
There were also readings from the Quran and the Bhagwat Gita.
Seated close to the glass capsule were the family of the late Founder-Leader of the People’s National Congress, including his widow Vice-President and Deputy Prime Minister Viola Burnham and son-in-law Dr. Richard Van West- Charles, Senior Minister of Health, together with his children and their husbands.
Among the specially invited persons to the enclosure outside the mausoleum that houses the tomb where the late President’s remains lie, were Ministers of the Government, members of the Judiciary, the Diplomatic Corps, former Government Ministers, the Speaker, Members of Parliament, executive members of the ruling People’s National Congress and Opposition Leader Dr. Cheddi Jagan, among others.
President Hoyte in his statement, which came after the Massed Bands under the baton of Police Superintendent Leon Waddell had played “O Beautiful Guyana,” and readings by two of the Burnham children, said the late President Burnham had taught us that ours is the primary responsibility for building our country.
DISUNITY
“He warned us against the dangerous folly of idleness and disunity and emphasised that the goal of development could be attained only by patience, self-reliance and sustained disciplined work,” the President said.
Reminding those present that Burnham is no longer around to lead the Guyanese people, President Hoyte continued, “we must follow our own impulses and chart our own course.”
Referring to Burnham’s contribution to Guyana, Hoyte said the late leader “found us a mere miscellany of colonial subjects, confused, directionless, lacking in self-consciousness and purpose. He left us a proud, cohesive, independent nation, with a common destiny and today we are a people fit for freedom, lords of ourselves capable of functioning with exceptional grace and exceptional versatility,” Hoyte concluded.
As the commendation and committal ceremony ended, the drizzles ceased and the small crowd made up mainly of women and young people outside the enclosure closed their umbrellas to join in singing the National Anthem which came after the sounding of the Last Post and the paying of final respects by President Hoyte and Prime Minister Hamilton Green.
The ‘Stabroek News’ learned that for the time being the site in the Botanic Gardens will be under tight guard by the military and the Police.
The little industry that Santa Claus forgot
Toy makers in trouble
THE above headline aptly describe the state of the local toy industry at this Christmas season.
A visit to many of the stores in Georgetown, including those operated by the State, reveals what appears to be a change in emphasis this year by the city’s businessmen in their approaches to this 1986 festive season.
There is a proliferation of imported toys in nearly all the stores and shops, and at first glance it’s a de-emphasising of the locally-made products such as rollers, rocking horses, games, and airplanes, all made from Guyana’s woods.
In at least two State-owned entities, Guyana Stores and the Guyana National Trading Corporation’s branch on Camp Street, locally-made toys are visible on the shelves along with soft toys also made in Guyana, but the local product has to compete side by side with the imported articles which are better packaged, but carry heavy price tags.
IMPORTED
A senior official at Guyana Stores told ‘Stabroek News’ that some of the imported toys were brought in from East Germany last year with the remainder being purchased in small quantities from traders. These include plastic dolls, trains, guns, jeeps and musical instruments.
The largest supplies of imported toys on display are in stores on Regent Street and Water Street and at the Sijan Plaza on Camp Street.
In these stores, as well as on several city pavements, the range of the imported articles are wide and varied and are also very expensive when the average salary of a Guyanese worker is taken into consideration.
In the privately-owned stores, battery-operated toys, such as guns, trains, fire engines, jeeps and cars range in prices from one hundred and fifty dollars to eight hundred dollars depending on the size and the technology involved.
Imported dolls are also available in large quantities fetching high prices, with one shop owner in clarifying the situation saying that since import licences were not being released, he and others had to turn to the traders.
At Sijan, all the toys are imported, many with United States markings and with price tags of seven to fifty US dollars depending on the quality of the toy and its size.
ANSWERS
A query from ‘Stabroek News’ as to what has gone wrong with the local toy industry which had been receiving much attention just two years ago, brought forth some very revealing answers.
Guyana Stores Executive Chairman Paul Chan-A-Sue said his corporation recently imported springs which were needed for certain types of wooden toys being manufactured on a small-scale, but because the local wood was too heavy the imported springs were found to be unsuitable since they could not move the toys, after they had been installed.
“Although we continue to have the commitment to local toys and the cottage industry,” Chan-A-Sue added, “our biggest concern and worry is the quality of the product.”
To this end, the management at Guyana Stores has arranged for an expert from the Federation for Industrial Training in Canada to spend three weeks in Guyana early in the new year.
The expert will hold practical sessions for the corporation’s suppliers of all types of wood products and he will also visit the work sites giving advice where necessary.
It was a different tale on the future of the local toy industry as told to this newspaper by the Managing Director of NCE Group of Companies, one of the big manufacturers, Brian Gittens.
He admitted that his company has not been able to manufacture a single toy for this Christmas, in spite of the personal intervention of President Desmond Hoyte, who had authorised the release of $15000 (US)for the purchase of imported components from the United States.
One of the components to be purchased were marbles for checker boards. Mr. Gittens explained that the components have been stored in Jamaica since May but because of trans-shipment difficulties and an apparent mix-up with the brokers in Jamaica, components are yet to arrive, although the necessary payments have been made. The quality of certain local inputs in many cases, was not up to standard, Gittens said.
One bright spot in all this was the optimism shared by both the top Guyana Stores official and Mr. Gittens that there is a very good chance of Guyanese craftsmen making their mark in the utilisation of local wood and wood products not only for toys but for ornaments and furniture, but this must be done on a commercial scale and needs substantial investment and encouragement.
The soft toy industry has been given good marks by both businessmen who referred to the strong support given it by Guymida.