Sunday Stabroek asked a few of Guyana’s politicians to share their wishes for the New Year; here are their responses.
Donald Ramotar (PPP/C)
“If I can first of all wish for the whole world, I wish for a world of peace for all. It is my wish that peace would prevail in places such as the Congo, Darfur, Palestine, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan.
“Secondly, it is my New Year wish for Guyana, that we will be able to further reduce poverty in our country and develop our economy faster and stronger despite the international crisis so that we can provide more services to our people.
“And I wish all our people good health and strength so that we can enjoy what life has to offer.”
Robert Corbin (PNCR)
“I do hope, and I’m wishing for a breath of fresh air for Guyana, one leading to a safe and secure environment with the severe reduction in crimes, particularly those against women.
“And that the administration of this country would seriously address the major problems such as the cost of living, unemployment in the rural communities and the continuous flooding on the coast.
“Most of all, I hope that the New Year will see the major stakeholders discussing a new system of governance which would ensure that the present alienation be removed and so that everyone can pool their energies for Guyana’s development.”
Khemraj Ramjattan (AFC)
“There are a couple of wishes I would want to see come true in 2009, or at the very least some first steps towards their realization.
“Firstly, I wish that leaders in this country make themselves, and live their lives, as exemplars so that the young can emulate them as role models. Very many of us leaders in politics, commerce, business and the professions and so on are not making ourselves role models for our youngsters. And when our youngsters misbehave as they do we want to know why.
“Secondly, I wish citizens in this country stop exhibiting such massive indifference and unconcern regarding civic affairs.
This apathy will only damnify our welfare and security, and our civilization − whatever is left of it. We must become a nation of citizens, not subjects!
So I wish that my countrymen see the need to participate in those bodies invested with authority so that we can fulfil our rights… Don’t just gripe and go with the flow, but be determiners and shapers of our destiny.”
“Thirdly, I wish to see some independent radio stations set up so that the monotony of the monopoly of state radio does not continue to distress me in 2009.”
Everall Franklin
(GAP-ROAR)
“I wish first of all that we may have peace. Besides security and no disaster, we need to have also financial security.
“I wish also that our civil servants can have a living wage and that we as a people can put our heads together and solve some of the problems we encounter.”
Indra Chandarpal (PPP/C)
“My New Year wish is for our country to enjoy continued peace and stability; and for our nation to have continuous growth in all the sectors.
“I would like 2009 to be declared a Year of Zero Tolerance for litterbugs and all who make the roadside and drains their garbage dumps. At the same time, I wish that individuals, agencies and organisations involved can make a concerted and coordinated effort to enhance their communities and our country.
“My wish is also to see a reduction of murders and violent crimes and an improvement in the attitude of various road users.
“I do hope that in 2009, we have among all Guyanese greater national unity, patriotism and national pride.”
Sheila Holder (AFC)
“I wish that the Christian community would take the lead and set the example in the country so as to promote peace and harmony.
“Change is inevitable and that is essentially what the Alliance for Change (AFC) embraces.
“I have to stress that Christians should and have to take the lead if we are going to achieve unity, justice, peace and harmony. There are enough Christians in our country for us to achieve these qualities. The problem is that they are embracing a spirit of fear. There is a spirit of fear hanging over this land, like there is a pall of violence hanging over the land and I think that that speaks directly to the dominance of evil. It is important for us to rid our society of such forces in order to succeed and move forward. Our righteous Christians are too silent, it is time for them to be heard, they need to speak out and lead by example; this is their God-given duty. I really wish for the New Year that Christians would try harder to lead by example.”
CN Sharma (JFAP)
“First of all let me wish all Guyanese a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year and I’m looking forward for the year 2009 for the cost of living in this country to be reduced and the VAT [reduced] to at least 5% because it is a great burden to the poor class of people of this country.
“Our gas price, throughout the world today reduce but yet the GPL is sending a fantastic light bill to the poor people and they do suffer a lot and that is something I would like to see this year 2009 change…
“I would like to see that Mr Jagdeo must not have all the say in everything…
“I would like to see the hospital have competent doctors to look [after] patients especially senior citizens in this country.
“We would like to see that children − don’t do lip service − children must [be] given the proper way to live, a decent living standard for children in this country. A lot a children suffer in this country.”
“We would like to see they have proper drainage and irrigation which I’ve talked about [for] a number of years.
“We would like to see corruption… in some ministries [be] put an end to.
“We would like to see that the nurses, teachers, doctors salary… be increased, that is very, very important.”
