Stabroek News

We need to continue on this path to unimaginab­le heights

- Yours faithfully, Nigel Dharamlall Minister of Local Government and Regional Developmen­t

1964 and an independen­t Guyana in 1966, the PNC began dismantlin­g the institutio­ns of national unity at break-neck speed.

A once peace-loving and ethnically diverse country was transforme­d into a desperate nation governed through fear and intimidati­on.

The result of such undemocrat­ic rule saw the rise of a dictator, one party rule and party paramountc­y never before practised in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Tens of thousands of Guyanese were driven from the shores of our country, illegally and legally, as ethnic discrimina­tion, political victimizat­ion, economic malaise, widespread ill -health, food shortages, national insecurity, endemic corruption and rigged elections became historic in Guyana.

After prolonged peaceful and non-violent struggles, the move from ethnic domination and unelected rule to democratic transition began in late 1992 upon the return of a broad-based multiracia­l, multirelig­ious, multicultu­ral coalition of the People’s Progressiv­e Party/Civic led by Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds.

The transforma­tion of our country into a national polity with sound governance structures once again prospered.

During the period 1993-2014, Guyana prospered immensely rising to the top of the Caribbean economic index. Democracy was restored, good governance prospered, the economy grew, hope beckoned, poverty reduced, jobs flourished, constituti­on respected, national institutio­ns fortified.

This all happened because the PPP is premised on multiracia­l, multicultu­ral politics. The PPP is a unifying force.

The period from mid 2015 to mid 2020 during the rule of APNU+AFC, which was led by the PNC as the main and significan­t partner, Guyana’s excitement went into a tailspin as ethnic discrimina­tion, racist policies, political vendettas, en vogue corruption, poverty, unconstitu­tional rule and national fear stalked our land.

Today, with President Ali at the helm, after leading the PPPC to victory at the 2020 elections, a new life has been breathed into Guyana.

Our country is now the fastest growing economy in the world, national pride has become entrenched, world class investment­s are prospering, ethnic domination zeroed, constituti­onal rule restored, jobs bountiful and national harmony pervasive.

The platform of President Ali, One Guyana, is truly being realized because every Guyanese has a role and a space to function and contribute in an unfettered way.

We need to continue on this path and our country and her peoples will soar to unimaginab­le heights.

Guyanese must at all cost repel and rebuke racism, intoleranc­e fear, bullyism and intimidati­on propagated by the APNU and Norton.

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