President David Granger on Sunday morning kicked off the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s National Congress (PNC), now the PNC Reform, with a tree planting exercise on Burnham Drive in Wismar, Linden in Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice.
“What Guyana is doing is not only for us but for the rest of the world. Green is what we are, green is what we do. Our national development policy depends on keeping Guyana green. Every year we will get hurricanes and the warmer the water gets, the more frequent and fierce those hurricanes will be. These events are catastrophic and that damage is being caused by global warming. It is being caused by climate change. We are seeing frequent and fiercer storms largely because of global warming and our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean are in jeopardy. These difficulties will go on unless we change the way we treat the environment,” a release from the Ministry of the Presidency quoted him on Sunday as saying.
Calling on all Guyanese to become more conscious of Guyana’s place in the Guiana Shield, Granger said that while 85 percent of the nation’s forest remains intact, there is a need for a move towards more sustainable mining and forestry practices. “We must make sure that we replant the trees that we cut down so that we would regenerate”, he said.
The President also encouraged residents of Linden to observe National Tree Day on October 7, 2017 by planting trees since it can contribute to their economic livelihood. “If every household planted a breadfruit tree, we would be able to produce a million pounds of breadfruit per year and we can benefit from exporting that to other countries so planting trees is not ornamental. You can make a living. Now and then when there is no work, you can always benefit from that tree. I would urge you to care those plants so that your children can come and not only shelter from them but can pick the fruit,” he said.
While in Linden, the release said that the President attended the re-commissioning of the PNC’s Congress House in Mackenzie. The building, which has been refurbished at a cost of $8.5M through donations and volunteer labour, is expected to become a centre for economic, social and educational activity as part of the Party’s Plan of Action for Regional Development. Granger congratulated Chairman of the Region Ten Party group, Sandra Adams for her leadership.
Following the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon, which officially re-commissioned the building, Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland handed over bicycles to 27 students, who gained more than 500 marks at the National Grade Six Assessment. Additionally, the top student was provided with a laptop computer, while other students in the top five received iPads.
