BRIGADIER DAVID GRANGER, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
Fellow Guyanese,
Guyana’s ‘Year for Workers’ must dawn on 1st January 2014. This country’s economic future lies in their hands. Many of our working people, however, are underemployed and unhappy and are not as productive as they could be. Workers face unsatisfactory labour relations in the sugar and mining industries and in the public and private sectors. Artisanal fisherfolk, craftsmen, small farmers and miners found themselves in difficult circumstances during 2013. Life must be better for all in 2014.
Guyana’s ‘Year for Workers’ must be one in which our working people should be able to look forward to a good life. It should be one in which they could look forward to living in safety, to working for ‘living wages’ to cope with the cost of living and to enjoying adequate social protection in their old age.
Guyana’s ‘Year for Workers’ must be one in which workers can feel free to join trade unions of their choice; in which collective bargaining agreements between their employers and their unions will be respected and in which the state will enforce labour laws fairly but firmly to protect them from adversity and from delinquent employers.
Let us, therefore, make the new year – 2014 – Guyana’s ‘Year for Workers’ as we all work together towards providing “a good life for all Guyanese.”
My best wishes for a happy new year to everyone
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MADAME DEOLATCHMEE RAMOTAR, FIRST LADY
A Happy New Year to all Guyana!
I trust that this the dawn of the New Year finds us all filled with great hope and expectation. The New Year is an opportunity to start afresh, a time to recheck our moral and spiritual compasses, to set our personal goals and to make plans for the future. In so doing, we must not dismiss the past but instead build upon our achievements and learn from the disappointments experienced.
Over the Christmas holidays, I both hosted and attended numerous events for our country’s children. The children were a joy to behold. They enlivened the sessions with their boundless enthusiasm and energy. Their innocence and amazing ability to find unbridled happiness in the company of each other reminds us all of the great promise they hold for our country’s future. It is for us adults to nurture that promise and to create conditions that would allow each child to fulfill his or her indisputable potential.
In this year 2014, I wish to urge all adults to seriously reflect on our obligation to our children. It is our duty to bequeath to them a dignified and secure future, one that is free of bigotry, hatred and animosity. Through our own example, especially in regards to how we relate to each other, we can ensure an environment of love, understanding, togetherness and compassion for our children. They deserve nothing less.
May this New Year therefore see us strive to be even more kind, considerate and generous to one another! May the dark stains of prejudice, hatred and hurt be removed from the fabric of society and may the New Year yield a bounty of goodness!
A Happy New Year to all Guyana!
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CLEMENT ROHEE, GENERAL SECRETARY – PEOPLE’S PROGRESSIVE PARTY
It is with a profound sense of joy and optimism; I extend on behalf of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), New Years greetings to all Guyanese on the dawn of 2014
It is the PPP’s hope that the new year brings serenity and the spirit of goodwill as the party continues to charter a path towards racial and working-class unity, growth and development, in keeping with our vision, when the PPP was formed 63 years ago.
A new year always brings with it a renewed sense of optimism and hope for a brighter future. The PPP shares this feeling of optimism which is grounded on the measurable progress the country has made over the past two decades under the visionary leadership of successive PPPC administrations.
Our party in the New Year will continue to remain a critical partner in the development of Guyana and its people.
In this New Year, the PPP remains committed to working towards activating the difficulty overcoming the challenges our people face on a daily basis.
The PPP will continue to address all matters affecting the welfare of our members and supporters and more so all Guyanese.
The PPP and the PPPC government has always, and will continue to remain faithful to the vision of its founding leaders to create a society in which there is racial and working class unity, participatory democracy and inclusive governance.
The PPP is of the view that critical to the realization of the above objectives is the need to build trust at the political level and create political space for all. Confrontation and threats must give way to dialogue and the good of the country should remain paramount in all our political engagements and discourse.
It is clear from the standpoint of the PPP that there is a strong political will to find common ground. The PPPC administrations have always recognized the importance of multi-party democracy and have always sought to ensure that opposition parties are not treated with disdain. There has never been harassment of opposition politicians as happened in the past. The attainment of political power by democratic means will be recognized as a legitimate objective which is the right of every political party.
The search for a political solution that meets the expectations of the Guyanese people must continue. In this regard, the PPP extends a hand of friendship to all those who subscribe to the aspirations of a free and democratic society within the broad framework of a National Democratic State based on the principles of national sovereignty, a tri-sectoral economy, good governance, rule of law and a working class orientation.
This will be a state of all Guyanese where the interest of all classes and strata of society will not only be protected but advanced to higher levels.
In keeping with the Party’s Programme which calls for the establishment of a National Democratic State that represents the interests of all classes, groups and social strata as part of an inclusive state, a decision was taken by the Party to work towards the creation of a broad left, progressive and democratic Nationalist Front comprising of representatives of all sections of the working people, farmers, intellectuals, professionals, the business community, NGOs and all Guyanese who share a common vision of the National Democratic Choice.
There can be no doubt that the political, social and economic landscape has been transformed under the PPPC administration. Guyana today is a proud and respected member of the international community.
As stated in the Party’s Political Declaration which emanated from its last Congress, the PPP recognizes, and is proud that as a nation under successive PPPC Governments, we have established a formidable record of improving the lives of thousands of people, in particular our children.
To name only a few-providing the opportunity for the first time for thousands of ordinary men and women to own their own homes; for the first time thousands of Amerindian children are receiving secondary school education; providing thousands of laptops to low income households in one of the most innovative projects executed by a government in the world to reduce the digital divide and enhance equitable access to new technology.
But challenges remain. It behooves us all, more so as representatives of the people, to put the national interest ahead of narrow partisan interests. Differences will be there, but in the words of President Donald Ramotar “the important thing is how we move forward in resolving our positions. To move forward will call for maturity if we are to avoid gridlock and inertia; political cooperation in the interest of the development of Guyana must exist.”
In 2014, let us all resolve on this joyous occasion to build a strong, prosperous and United Guyana for all.
Once again, best wishes for a peaceful, progressive and prosperous 2014 to everyone!
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ALLIANCE FOR CHANGE
As this New Year begins, the Alliance For Change gives thanks for all the blessings and support we have received from the people of Guyana and will continue to work towards creating a more prosperous Guyana – one that all her citizens would be proud to call home.
The past year was a challenging one for most Guyanese with alarmingly high levels of domestic violence, affecting mainly our women and the high incidence of road fatalities, which have taken many valuable lives, including our youngest and brightest minds.
In 2013 the AFC waged a fight against corruption and advocated the need for good governance. We focused on demanding accountability and transparency in the day to day running of our dear country Guyana. In this area our shouts have been loud and resounding resulting in the many revelations of corruption in the management of our national assets by our Government that seemed to plague the entire year yet again.
This fight was vindicated with the pronouncements we heard from Transparency International, in US State Department reports, from our diplomatic missions and our own Auditor General as we continue to strive to establish a true democracy.
Our stance in Parliament has been based on these principles as we sought to bring the Government to account in Parliament as should be. To this end, we have taken up issues that dealt with this – including the need for the establishment of a Public Procurement Commission, and amendments to the Fiscal Management and Accountable Act to ensure financial accountability of the Judiciary and Parliament.
We have taken strong positions on the need for state funds held by NICIL to be deposited and accounted for in our Consolidated Fund, and that both the Integrity and the Ethnic Relations Commissions should be fully operationalized.
The Alliance For Change has also advocated that the position of Chancellor and Chief Justice be filled, and most importantly, has been consistent over the years with calls for the holding of Local Government Elections which we know will open up a new vista for people’s participation. These are the hallmarks of what the AFC has done to enhance our democracy in 2013.
In 2014 our still incomplete agenda will continue, as we fervently hope that Local government Elections will be held. We will continue the fight for a living wage, and that monies voted for increases in wages will be specifically quantified in the next budget. It is our hope that greater respect for collective bargaining and consultation with the Unions on the welfare of their members and without government making arbitrary awards, will take place.
We will continue to advance the issues you have asked us to raise on your behalf – a reduction in the economic pressures placed on your pockets, garbage-free communities for your children to grow up in, jobs for our young people, and a livable wage for all.
In 2014 we will lobby hard to ensure that the state media will be opened up to give us and other organizations access to this “national” resource as happens in most democracies across the globe, and that coverage of parliamentary proceedings will be carried live, better informing the people of Guyana and eliminating the cloak and dagger approach.
We in the Alliance for Change know that more can be achieved when we accept that every Guyanese has a valuable contribution to make. We recommit to ensuring that the spirit of working together amongst our major political parties is put back firmly on the national agenda, recognizing that constructive dialogue is the only way to ensure we move this country of ours forward, for the benefit of all.
In closing, we salute our gallant fighters in all ten regions of Guyana and in the diaspora, who have kept the Alliance For Change going under difficult circumstances and note the passing of several of our members and close friends who have all contributed to making the AFC a national institution for change.
May your new year be filled with peace, good health and prosperity.
Happy New Year to all Guyana.
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CARICOM SECRETARY-GENERAL, AMBASSADOR IRWIN LAROCQUE
2013 was a reflective and celebratory year for the Community as we marked our 40th Anniversary. That we have come thus far is testimony to our determination and commitment to forge a common destiny as small unified States in this unique corner of the world called the Caribbean.
Our Anniversary Theme of ‘Celebration and Renewal’ remains relevant as we bask in our Caribbean-ness, rekindle the spirit of Community and continue our integration quest with an outlook that is shaped by new thinking and different approaches.
That outlook will be influenced by the necessity for appropriate responses to the current global environment which has placed Member States in dire straits, stymieing growth and development and denying us the wherewithal to create a better standard of living for the people of the Community. Indeed, the vulnerability of our Member States and their capacity for resilience came into stark relief last week in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia and Dominica, when severe weather visited death and destruction and caused a setback to development efforts there.
The new outlook will also be shaped by the Review and Reform that we have undertaken at the behest of the Heads of Government. We are on schedule to achieve early in the new year one of our key milestones – the completion of the draft Five-Year Strategic Plan. The Plan was crafted following consultations with stakeholders across Member States and Associate Members. The Plan will set out a common vision, identify our priority areas of focus over the period and will also address issues of implementability including the roles and responsibilities of all participants in the Community architecture.
Unsurprisingly, sustainable economic growth and development emerged as one of the primary areas of concern for stakeholders across the spectrum with whom the Change Team interacted over the past year, and it is our intention, through the efforts of the recently-established CARICOM Commission on the Economy, to explore possible avenues to put us on a sustainable path. The Commission will provide advice on implementable solutions based particularly on the priority areas set out in our Growth Agenda.
For the Caribbean Community therefore, 2014 dawns with the promise of new directions, prioritization on the critical areas that will deliver more immediate and tangible benefits to our peoples, more strategic approaches and the continued emphasis on our youth and empowerment of our citizens.
I wish the entire Community Happy Holidays and a Prosperous and Productive New Year and pray for a speedy recovery in those Member States affected by the recent severe weather.