Linking globalisation with the export of unsocial behaviour, criminal deportees, narcotics and small arms, he said the nation, celebrating its 37th Independence anniversary today, has already paid a price in the rise of criminal behaviour compounded by such trans-national problems.

And he charged the citizenry in his annual address delivered at the National Park in Georgetown to restructure and create new higher-value added, internationally tradable sectors, such as agriculture, eco-tourism and information technology, to meet the other challenges of globalisation.

President Jagdeo also urged the nation to keep an eye on the transforming effect of the reformed Constitution and to “seize” the looming opportunity of a new standard of political conduct with the recently launched ‘constructive engagement’ with the main opposition People’s National Congress/Reform.

The Head of State was also hopeful the recent historic swearing-in of an Ethnic Relations Commission would make Guyana one of the most advanced countries in terms of enshrining and protecting the rights of its people.

National awards, usually announced in the Independence anniversary programme, have been deferred.

The text of the President’s message follows:

My Fellow Guyanese:
Happy 37th Independence Anniversary: This is a day for renewed resolve. This is an occasion to pledge our service to the land of our birth, and to rededicate our energies to the prosperity of our country.

In 1966, we joined the community of independent nations. As was the case with others, independence for us was not an end in itself. It was a means to an end; it was a catalyst to leverage opportunities and employ the resources of our land for the benefit of our people; and to boldly take our destiny into our own hands. It was the expectation that through persistence and toil we would create a better life for ourselves.

As we renew this pledge, let us recall our fore-parents who fought for Guyana’s Independence. Such retrospection must produce within us a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for their singleness of purpose in pursuing the objective of bringing freedom to Guyana. We have indeed inherited a rich legacy - a legacy, which we must preserve and pass on to future generations.

We, as a nation, have made recognisable progress and recorded significant achievements over these thirty-seven years of national independence. In moments of difficulties, we tend to forget this fact. There is no denying that at times, we have pursued policies and paths that have retarded progress and led to the de-accumulation of national wealth. We have suffered other setbacks, domestic and external, which were not of our making and which we could not forestall.

However, what I am proud of is that our people have endured those trying times and yet been able to improve their personal well-being and that of their families. Another fact I am particularly proud of is that in spite of attempts to create discord, among our people, and undermine our national integrity, Guyana has remained strong and united.

I am pleased to see the display of renewed energy and interest in the celebration of our rich cultural diversity. We are not celebrating from where we came. We are celebrating what we have become in our country. Consequently, we must ensure that these expressions allow for all Guyanese to celebrate and to appreciate the contributions of different groups. These events should serve the cause of unity, not division. We must also remind our selves that we are a nation made up of many different peoples and cultures. We must not only pay lip service to this reality, but must ensure that it becomes a source of strength.

I believe our forefathers would be ecstatic that their sons and daughters have excelled in every human endeavour at home, within the Region and globally. They will be satisfied that their children have seized the opportunities they dreamed of and created, but never lived to enjoy. That our national emblems stand in dignified equality with those of other nations must be the summit of their pride.

The independence our fore-parents envisaged could not be only of a political nature. I am sure they wanted their descendants to experience economic freedom as well. They wanted us to have access to improved housing; enjoy the basic social amenities; not experience the abysmal poverty of their day; receive an education that is functional; and enjoy the benefits of leisure after hard work. They wanted to see us enjoy the fruits of our labour in a condition of national security and economic prosperity. Until we achieve these aspirations, for me, we would not have attained real economic freedom. That is why these objectives remain essential aspects of my government’s development plan.

In implementing these plans, our country has experienced many beneficial changes. We have taken a more aggressive approach to the provision of social services and expanded the choices available to our people. We have been dismantling hindrances to people’s participation in economic and social activities and in deciding their future.

Let us remind ourselves that many aspects of the conditions of life we enjoy today, and, which we take for granted, were not present before 1966. Just look at Guyana today. Compare it to the past. The transformation is remarkable: new housing schemes, new industrial sites, improved infrastructure, new forms of economic activities, better water supply, improved health and education facilities and more.

There are other qualitative developments that are not so evident. We are quietly undertaking several measures to modernise our country. We are restructuring various systems so that we can achieve current global standards of efficiency. For instance, wide-ranging reforms are taking place in the public sector, in health and education, all with the aim of providing a better quality of service to our people. There have been reforms in the banking and financial sectors which impact positively on economic activities. Significant reforms of the criminal-justice system are being pursued in order that citizens benefit from a fairer and more efficient justice administration. We have also put in place modern environmental laws. Traffic legislation and laws dealing with criminality are being updated and expanded. These are progressive developments which are not apparent, but meaningful and necessary in a modern state.

We also need to keep in sight the reform of the Constitution which is having a transforming effect on all that we do, including widening freedoms, enlarging the scope for people’s involvement, improving monitoring and control mechanisms and streamlining our political system. More importantly, these changes allow for the political opposition to play a more meaningful role in the affairs of our country.

My Fellow Guyanese: We have breathed a new dynamism into the Parliament not only by agreements to constitute the sectoral committees and the various constitutional commissions, but also by strengthening mechanisms for it to be more functional. It is reasonable to expect that these changes will result in a qualitative improvement in the discourse and debates that take place within the chambers of the National Assembly.

I am hopeful that the historic swearing in of the members of the Ethnic Relations Commission has set them to work to heal the ethnic wounds of our nation and dispel misperceptions and remove every illusion of institutionalised racial prejudice. I believe that the example of the State will not be lost on the private sector and other bodies, which must equally play their parts in removing any remnants of racial prejudice, perceived or real. The work of this Commission would be bolstered by the soon to be constituted Rights Commissions - Human, Women, Children and Indigenous People Commissions. This would make Guyana one of the most advanced countries in terms of enshrining and protecting the rights of its people and hopefully will lead to all Guyanese having greater faith and trust in the institutions of the State.

Our Parliament is the forum where political differences must be debated and reconciled. I believe that our citizens will hear, our constituents will listen, and a new standard of political conduct can take hold of this land. The recent agreement between the Leader of the Opposition and I gives effect to many of the Constitutional changes. It also sets the tone for all parties to engage in less confrontational politics and to work together for the national good. Let us seize this opportunity.

Laws and sanctions are necessary to discourage inappropriate behaviour. However, these do not replace the goodwill and the kindness of each citizen. Nothing can compensate for the charm of goodness, the display of human concern and compassion, which can be encouraged, but not legislated.

Fellow Guyanese: In political and economic terms, the environment of the 1960s no longer exists at the global or national level. While the globalisation process seeks to remove trade barriers, regrettably global politics focuses on defending narrow national interests, instead of safeguarding collective concerns and promoting the imperatives of interdependence. Recently, because of War and the fight against international terrorism, several of the pressing issues affecting developing countries have been placed on the backburner of the agenda of international organisations.

Globalisation is moving rapidly and in its wake it is leaving a dismantled trade and economic infrastructure to which we have been accustomed to for decades.

The replacement proposals tabled by the major trading blocs within the various theatres of negotiations still do not answer the concerns of developing countries. Let me reiterate: we are not against free trade. What we are pursuing at the national and CARICOM levels are trading arrangements that would not push us further into the margins of development. Arrangements that would recognise our peculiarities and provide transitional support.

In Guyana, we must use this interval aggressively to make necessary adjustments. We can no longer just boast of the primary products we produce and export or the mineral wealth that lies beneath our soil because they are among the least remunerated of any goods on the world market. We have to restructure our traditional sectors to make them globally competitive and to create new sectors that have higher valued-added contents and are internationally tradable. For instance, ago-industry, eco-tourism and information technology-related services.

Fellow Guyanese: Globalisation seems to be more than the free movement of goods and services. It seems also to be the export of unsocial behaviour, criminal deportees, narcotics and small arms to our countries. Our own society has already paid a price in a rise of criminal behaviour compounded by these trans-national problems. In response to this, the Guyana Defence Force, in full accordance with the laws of our country, has been deployed to support the Guyana Police Force in confronting this upsurge in crime. This arrangement will continue. The fight against crime will remain a priority of your Government. No resource will be spared. I wish to express the gratitude of our nation to the men and women of the security forces who put their lives at risk in the fight against crime. Their effort deserves the unequivocal support of the entire Guyanese society.

Fellow Guyanese: As we look to the future, we must further enhance the delivery of education, health care, housing and other social services; we must create expanded opportunities for more jobs and wealth creation by our people; we must strengthen friendly ties with our neighbours - Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname; we must maintain our commitment to CARICOM, while at the same time expanding relations with Latin American countries and other friendly countries; we must defend our patrimony at all cost; we must ensure that all our people, regardless of ethnicity or religion, feel and are treated equally; and we must fashion a society in which religious leaders, young people, entrepreneurs, workers, the elderly and every one of us feel included and can make an important contribution to national development.