President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced an initiative to foster cohesion among communities along the East Coast of Demerara as part of his administration’s drive to unify citizens.
The Office of the President (OP) said in a statement that the communities targeted under the initiative are Lusignan, Enterprise, Buxton, Foulis and Golden Grove, which Ali visited yesterday to announce the plans.
“These villages will be part of a pilot programme that we’re referring to as a Corridor of Unity and Oneness. That oneness will be stretched all across our country as we build a future that is sustained on unity and respect for all,” he was quoted as saying at Lusignan by OP.
He said the communities selected have a shared history and noted that although there are differences and challenges, they all share a similar fighting spirit.
Ali also made a point of saying that there was no political agenda behind the initiative. “All of us want to leave a better tomorrow, but we can only leave a better tomorrow if we are willing to make the changes and sacrifices today. I am not here to tell you that I want you to vote for any political party five years from now, nothing like that, that is your democratic right and you choose it however you want, but what I am here to say is that we have a birthright, a patriotic right to Guyana to uplift this country for each other and to support each other. That right goes beyond politics,” he said.
At Buxton, he told residents that the community is an important link in the “Corridor of Unity” and pledged to work closely with them and to listen to their ideas for the success of the initiative.
“Today we are moving in one direction …we are going to create this Corridor of Unity. To move together, all must be involved,” he said.
“Today is the beginning of a journey that will take us positively forward…we have the ability to live with each other, let us begin,” he added.
Ali also listened to the concerns raised by residents, which ranged from the improvement of the grounds in the community to access to housing.
Ali said that the initiative will commence with sports and cultural development and pointed to sport being a unifying medium. On that front, he also donated sports gear to the various clubs in the communities and also announced another project called ‘the Republic Unity Cup.’ He said that in addition to a trophy which will be up for grabs, the winning team will also earn the opportunity to benefit from community development projects.
OP said Ali also pledged his government’s involvement in supporting the youths in the community in accessing scholarships, providing access to jobs, including in the construction sector and providing access to technical-vocational programmes, among other things.
Ali’s visits yesterday came on the heels of his announcement on Thursday of the planned establishment of a ‘One Guyana Commission’ aimed at attaining “oneness”.
In his inaugural address to the 12th Parliament, Ali said for too long Guyana has been held ransom to the ambitions of partisan politics and the narrowness of partisan ambition.
“It is time to set those two impostors aside and to embrace in their place the virtuous cause of patriotic duty. A commitment my Government has made already. Guyana and the Guyanese people deserve no less; they have endured enough,” Ali told the MPs.
“The key word of my government is ‘oneness.’ The essential character of my Government’s vision is ‘inclusion’,” Ali declared.
The purpose of the Commission, he explained, would be to identify practical steps to cement our one society, encompassing and respecting the diversity from which our “oneness” springs.
“The work of the Commission would be countrywide, and it would listen to the free expressions of all voices, concerning ways in which every Guyanese can honour their ancestral heritage while giving the highest regard to our blended Guyanese civilization,” the president explained.
Notably, he added that the Commission will address the institutional strengthening of the existing Ethnic Relations Commission to make it more effective. The constitutional agency has been criticized as ineffective over the entirety of its existence.
The “Oneness Commission” will also deal with education concerning the country’s history; its religions and how we ensure equal opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship, Ali noted.
During his visit to the East Coast communities yesterday Ali was accompanied by several government officials, including Attorney General Anil Nandlall, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr and Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues. They along with representative from the Office of the Prime Minister Pastor Patrick Findlay were announced as comprising a ‘Management Group’ for the corridor. The Management Group has been charged with engaging the communities on how to bring the corridor together and to determine how the pilot programme will be used.
