Dear Editor,
Please permit me a little space to clarify the contents of the letter “Desmond Alli may have to admit his attack against the Ali government’s arts policy is flawed” by Mr. Lawrence Rodney. At the launching of the Guyana United Artists (GUA) in December 1997, we clearly stated that our objective was to promote via the creative arts the unification of our people and to promote harmonious relations with nation states. This was an uphill task as we got no support from the government or the private sector. The construction of the National Unity monument and travels to Brazil to promote Guyana’s Continental Destiny were made possible by the support of friends both in Guyana and the diaspora. Voluntary service at the community level also popularized the GUA but the PPP saw it as a threat to their divisive rule.
I had filled up application forms with our proposals for the Ministry of Culture, Culture and Business Award. We needed the funds to purchase a printing machine to produce t-shirts artistically designed. Our applications were never approved but persons who are not artists and not eligible for the fund but are PPP loyalists were awarded GYD$1 million each. The printing machine would have aided us in our country wide awareness program- road safety, environmental protection etc. it would have aided us to create a FUND for artists in need. Coming out of the horse’s mouth so to speak, the PPP refusal to make funds available to the small artists’ community which Mr. Lawrence Rodney applauded was deliberate, intended to end the continuum of the Burnham era.
Sincerely,
Desmond Alli
Architect of the National Unity
Monument
