Understandable though it may be, is it not ironic that precisely at the time President David Granger was telling the 19th Biannual Congress of his People’s National Congress Reform that ‘We need not be divided, we need to build cooperative relationships at all levels of society’, he is set upon a constitutional course to remove ‘Cooperative’ from the Cooperative Republic of Guyana?! The word ‘cooperative’ does not only symbolize an emphasis on co-operative societies but is also intended as a constant aspirational reminder to each of us that we need to work together to unite and develop our society if we are to live the good life. Even if, in a divided and acrimonious place such as Guyana, the contribution of social symbols must be limited, it was most insightful of Forbes Burnham to recognize and find a place for ‘cooperative’ as a symbol of unity at the pinnacle of the constitutional state.
Of course, President Granger himself cannot be held responsible for the current position: ‘cooperative’ is only still in the name of our country because the referendum necessary for its formal removal is still to be held, a decade and a half after the constitutional reforms of 2001. However, the fact that we are here and could not rise beyond our ideological prejudices and historical disputes is perhaps to our discredit.
