Guyana: Achievements of People's National Congress under Forbes Burnham

Press Release: Achievements of the People’s National Congress (PNC) under the leadership of Forbes Burnham - first executive president of the cooperative Republic of Guyana

REPUBLIC DAY, 23 FEBRUARY 1970

Arthur Chung - President and Head of State New Constitution - Co-operative Republic of Guyana – 1970 L.F.S. Burnham - Prime Minister, Head of Government

ECONOMY – PERIOD OF SOCIALIST THRUST

Nationalisation

- Demerara Bauxite Company (DEMBA) (1971)

- Reynolds Metal Co., Kwakwani (1973)

- Bookers McConnell & Co. Ltd. (1975)

- Sandbatch Parker Ltd. (1974)

NEW FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ESTABLISHED

Aid to Industry - Guyana National Co-op Bank

Agri. & Housing - Guyana Agricultural & Industrial Development Bank

NIS - National Insurance Scheme (1969)

Development - Guyana Co-op Mortgage Finance Bank (1970-1980) & Guyana State Corporation (GUYSTAC)

[caption id="attachment_40687" align="aligncenter" width="182"] Forbes Burnham[/caption] INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

- Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary Scheme (MMA)

- New Airport Terminal Building

(Refurbishing runaway and all related air traffic control facilities at the International Airport – Timehri.)

Telecommunication

- Earth Station built and commissioned.

Roads

- Soesdyke/Linden Highway

- East Demerara/West Berbice Highway

- East Berbice/Corentyne Highway

- West Demerara Highway

Bridges

- Demerara Harbour Bridge

- Canje River Bridge

- McKenzie/Wismar Bridge

Sea & River Defences

- Throughout Coastal Guyana

- Building of Ships & Barges: Steven-N; MV Jaimeto; MV Torani; MV Malali

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

- Turkeyen Campus, University of Guyana

- Cyril Potter College of Education (Teacher’s Training College)

- National Cultural Centre

- National School of Dance

- Burrowes School of Arts

Restructuring our education system to meet the challenges of Independence and Republican status:

- Multilateral Schools

- Community High Schools

- Primary Schools (Curriculum Development)

- Guyana National Service

- Guyana Festival of Arts (GUYFESTA)

- CARIFESTA 1972

- President’s College (School of Excellence)

F.C.H. PROGRAMME (FEED, CLOTHE & HOUSE)

Towards Local Self Sufficiency

(a) Production and use of Indigenous Food (fruits, vegetables, fish)

(b) Use of Indigenous materials (clay)

(c) Cotton production at Kimbia.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Membership of Non Aligned Movement (NAM) (Hosted first NAM Foreign Ministers Meeting in Western Hemisphere, 1972.)

- Twice elected to membership of UN Economic and Social Council.

- Also elected to membership of UNESCO executive Board and the Board of WHO.

- The Georgetown Accord in 1975 led to the formal establishment of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of Countries, (ACP).

- President of United Nations Security Council on two separate occasions (1975/1976 & 1982/1983) when it twice occupied one of two Latin American seats.

MONUMENTS ERECTED TO:

- Non-Aligned Founding Fathers

- African Liberation Movement

- 1763 Revolution

- Enmore Martyrs

- Damon

- Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow

- Our Amerindian Heritage – Umana Yana

CARIBBEAN INTEGRATION MOVEMENT

- Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA) - 1967/1968

- Treaty of Chaguaramus establishing the Caribbean Community & Common Market (CARICOM) – 1973

1979: Constitution approved by referendum after Constituent Assembly process.

1980: New Constitution provided for Executive Presidency.

1980: L.F.S. Burnham elected First Executive President.

The Constitution provided for the following Supreme Organs of Democratic Power:

a) The Parliament;

b) The National Congress of Local Democratic Organs (NCLDO);

c) The Supreme Congress of the People;

d) The President;

e) The Cabinet.

Our Indigenous People: As a result of the work of the Amerindians Lands Commission, the Government of Guyana in 1976 awarded land titles to Amerindian villages as ancestral lands to be owned and worked collectively by our Amerindian citizens for their and the country’s benefit.

National Holidays: The recognition of Religious (Holy Days) for Hindus and Muslims as National Holidays.

National Defence: In defence of our territorial integrity.

Establishment of the National Army – Guyana Defence Force; People’s Militia; Guyana National Service.

Agriculture – The base of survival and economic development in Guyana.

The following are glimpses of the PNC Government’s initiatives in Agriculture during first 20 years of Republican status.

• Announcement of the policy of national Self Sufficiency in Food.

• The banning and/or restriction of imported non-essential food items.

• Experimentation and creativity in local food production encouraged.

• Increased Government expenditure and investment in this sector authorized.

• Agricultural Co-operatives in Crops and Livestock, processing and marketing established.

• F.C.H. programme launched.

• Incentive schemes for farmers granted, e.g., duty free importation of Stockfeed ingredients – agricultural machinery; spare parts; tools; fertilizers pesticides.

• Increased expenditure on Sea and River Defences – pumps, D & I schemes and roads.

• Agri-Training Institution upgraded and new institutions established.

• Agri-Research intensified resulting in higher yielding varieties of rice, sugar cane, legumes and species of livestock realized.

• Inland fishing intensified and more and better trawlers involved in deep sea fishing and shrimping.

• Dairy industry revitalized – higher yielding species, introduced artificial insemination encouraged.

• Agri-Diversification given new priority.

• National plan for Agri development reviewed and reshaped.

• Urban agriculture given new prominence.

• Constitutional changes giving Land to the Tiller.

• National Agriculture Research Institute established.

• Oil Palm project at Wauna (NWD) San Juan (Dem. River) coconut plantation at Hope Estate, E.C.D. reactivated.

• Cotton cultivation reactivated.

• Attractive incentives to coffee and tobacco growers.

• Farmers Association promoted.