Conversation Tree

The first of the eight Millenium Development Goals is to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.” The quantifiable targets of this goal, to be achieved by 2015, is to reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day; to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people; to reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. 

The Government of Guyana has committed to these goals so that the abolition of extreme poverty is really confirming what the government has already undertaken to do and will no doubt form a part of the manifesto of the PPP/C for the next general elections. 

The conspiracy by three Guyanese, Russell De Freitas, Abdul Kadir and Abdel Nur, who had already pleaded guilty, and one Trinidadian, Kareem Ibrahim, yet to be tried, of plotting to blow up the fuel lines at Kennedy Airport has shocked Guyanese here and overseas, including in the US. Its intention was to unleash a series of cascading explosions which was expected to threaten the very existence of New York, at least in the minds of these individuals who must have been suffering from delusions of a serious nature to believe that such a plot was feasible. No serious person would have believed that these down and out characters, with the possible exception of Abdul Kadir, could blow open even an old ovaltine tin containing spit and carbon, which we did as children, much less one of the largest airports in the world. 

 

The world recently celebrated the 92nd birthday of Nelson Mandela. The PPP commemorated the occasion by a public event at the National Library. The continued presence of Nelson Mandela among us is a source of inspiration to those who treasure forgiveness and reconciliation.

The dismantling of apartheid in South Africa necessitated a transitional arrangement of power sharing between the African National Congress and the National Party. An editorial in the Guyana Chronicle at the time, while Cheddi Jagan was President and Moses Nagamootoo was Information Minister, entitled ‘The Mandela Formula,’ spoke glowingly about the arrangement when it was put in place. There was discussion about the ‘Formula’ in the PPP leadership at the time in relation to the issue of shared governance generally but these were inconclusive. Cheddi spoke supportively about the ‘Formula’ in interviews.

I should like to thank you for your invitation to deliver opening remarks to this the Third Conference of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana. This acknowledgement from you that I may have something of interest or value to say to the trade union movement, is indeed a great honour.  

Among the material I consulted when preparing my remarks, is the speech of Brother Ashton Chase to the first Conference of FITUG in 2006. It is a most enlightening document, reverberating with history. A portion of the speech traces the formation and suspension of FITUG between 1988 and 1993, and its re-establishment in 2003. This history demonstrates that FITUG=s birth and growth were inevitable outcomes of the underlying interplay of politics, workers= struggles and trade unionism, that have characterised our history as well that of many other Caribbean countries.  

The newspapers last weekend highlighted the story of six overseas Guyanese representing Guyana in athletics at the Central American and Caribbean Games to be held at the end of July in Puerto Rico. There were photographs including that of Aliann Pompey who is among the earliest and most successful overseas Guyanese female athletes to represent Guyana at overseas sporting events. Several worthy Guyanese women have since followed and have made distinguished themselves and made Guyana proud. 

 Also representing Guyana at the CAC Games would be another overseas female Guyanese, Claire Fraser. A young British Army captain, Claire Fraser was in Guyana for a week to ride in the national cycle championship which took place on Sunday last. Unfortunately, Claire got an infected throat and chest, with a severe cough, and was running a temperature. She had to undergo medical treatment. Nevertheless, even though still ill and on medication, she bravely started the race and rode half way before having to drop out. Claire has already represented Guyana in Barbados in the Caribbean championships.