Dear Editor,
On the anniversary of my father’s birth, March 22, I would like to remind all Guyanese, regardless of race, religion or class, that President Cheddi Jagan stood tall and firm in his belief, that corruption, nepotism and sheer greed in governance, is the worst act of criminality facing the Guyanese people. Jagan stood tall and strong in his belief that “squandermania” in governance was also a crime against the working people of our dear country and money wasted on national development failures should be counted as crimes against the Guyanese people.
President Cheddi stands today as an icon of honesty, integrity and working class commitment to the ideals of good governance, while never backing down from his stand to always attend, first and foremost, to the interests of the poorest sections of our society.
He was born into poverty and even though he achieved the greatest heights in our society, he died with nothing of monetary value because he never took bribes, never involved himself in nepotism nor corruption when he led Guyana and never backed down in his political understanding of Guyana’s place in the West Indies and the world. Even his detractors, both local and abroad, respected his commitment to the Guyanese people.
Editor, even in his private life, he never used alcohol, tobacco and never gambled; he was a great father and a brother to his siblings with considerable efforts to their well-being; and he was a beacon of hope and pride to his parents who existed for most of their lives struggling to exist under British colonialism. And always, I remember his beautiful smile – a smile none of our present politicians can even pretend to emulate.
Can those politicians who claim to represent the Guyanese people today stand in the shadow of President Cheddi? I doubt it. But maybe they can change and emulate that great man while throwing off the mantles of greed and nepotism and accepting “shared governance” which Jagan stressed as a cure to our political stalemate which all parties in Guyana are guilty of. Jagan stressed to his dying day that “winners should not take all”- a concept that the major parties reject but maybe, hopefully………..
Rest in eternal peace, my father- your picture is always by me, whether in office and at home, and my immediate family cherishes your brave and resolute life; sometime, we’ll meet again.
Sincerely,
Cheddi (Joey) Jagan (Jr.)
