Dear Editor,
I was brought up in this country from a very early age to understand that all the races in this country must live together and make our motto ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’ a reality. This has remained an article of faith with me as I made the journey from my teenage years to adulthood, and even as my educational and social horizons broadened and encompassed the various facets of life. The same attitude informed my approach to the world of work and more particularly when I became involved in the Trade Union Movement.
As a trade unionist I was deeply conscious of the fact that the movement in its very beginnings and as it evolved and matured embraced the concept of a non-racial Guyanese society. I cannot forget that in the early years of the BGLU Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow made it a point of honour to defend all workers, including our Indian Guyanese brothers and sisters. My belief in a non-racial Guyanese society is but a short step to embracing the idea, that in terms of pushing Guyana forward and in the general task of nation building, anyone selected to govern this country must be scrutinized, not on the basis of race, but on his or her capacity to lead. That is why I was somewhat disappointed that one of my brother trade unionists should offer the opinion that an Indian presidential candidate is not the answer to Guyana’s problems. I believe that that person missed the point. It is not the ethnicity of the person that is important but that person’s competence and integrity. Let us be frank. The next person who is selected to hold the reins of power in Guyana will have to be someone who is not only competent and visionary, but also experienced in the art of governing. He must also be aware of the hard decisions that will have to be taken to reverse Guyana’s decline and put it on the true path to real and equitable development.
It is in this context that I believe that the person best qualified to lead Guyana at this point in its history is Mr Winston Murray. There is no doubt that Mr Murray’s vast experience in government, his qualifications and his network of contacts and acquaintances in the region and beyond, make him the best candidate for the PNCR, and I dear say the rest of the nation. Even Mr Murray’s critics and his detractors have admitted that he is a man of rare competence, intelligence and integrity.
Yours faithfully,
Gillian Burton
