President Jagdeo reaffirms promise of strong leadership for epoch

by Sharon Lall
Guyana Chronicle
November 26, 1999


PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo is holding strong to his promise of taking Guyana into the new millennium with stronger leadership and proposals meant to add vigour to the nation.

He reiterated that the Government must be more responsive to Guyanese and said he intends to decentralise more services to persons across the country in order to create more job opportunities.

"This is not going to be easy...Many people don't like changes...They have become very comfortable and are going to resist the changes we are making," he said on Wednesday night while addressing some 1,500 residents at a PPP/Civic rally held at Windsor Forest, West Coast Demerara.

"Many people who do not know me, try to create some images that seek to alienate me from those (PPP/CIVIC) core values. I am not going to be alienated. I stand strongly in this regard."

The Guyanese Head of State once again pledged to intensify the fight against corruption and warned that persons chosen to manage their respective Ministries would be removed once they can not fit into the task of national development and serve Guyanese.

In keeping with this vision, some changes will most likely be made in the Regional system, where there have been reports pertaining to the conduct of certain executive officers.

On plans to generate more employment, President Jagdeo said an industrial estate will be built in the Rupununi region to allow businesses to relocate there. Tax concessions will be granted to the business community to make it easier for hinterland youths to be offered jobs in their own communities.

President Bharrat said the education sector, too, is listed for improvement.

Although the budget for the education sector has tripled since the ruling regime assumed office, a lot of these resources have been wasted, the President reported.

"We do not get value for our money in many cases. We have to ensure that the people who manage the funds deliver higher quality services for our people," he remarked.

According to the President, a process is in the works to make the University of Guyana (UG) more responsive to the developmental needs of the country.

The programme which is planned for the education sector involves, among other things, curriculum reform.

"Many of the things we do today in schools have no relevance to the new century...yet we persevere in teaching them. That has to change," the President noted.

He said more emphasis should be placed on teacher training, especially in rural areas, and information technology and technical vocational training must be incorporated in the school system.

President Jagan also suggested the idea of squashing the Secondary School Entrance Examinations (SSEE) and creating a universal secondary education for all youngsters after they complete primary school.

"When one hundred students sit the Common Entrance (SSEE) exam you only have space in the secondary schools for 55 of them. (The remaining) have to go to community high schools or they drop out...

"When they have to go to the community high school their parents see them as failures and they, themselves, think that they are failures...This is a terrible system. It's a waste of our talents."

He confessed that all of this and more are just a fraction of the planned reforms which will be implemented in the future.

The President stated, however: "It is not going to be done in a short period. I am not with my head up in the clouds and think that everything is going to change overnight. It is hard work."

President Jagdeo offered that his administration believes in persevering and coming out at the grass-root level and, explaining plans to be embarked upon on the road to development.

"...This is the only path that will bring progress to our country and ensure a bright future for our children," he said.


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