–as PNCR observes Burnham’s 35th Death Anniversary
On today’s occasion of the 35th death Anniversary of former President Linden Forbes Burnham, former President David Granger has hailed the past President as a visionary leader who initiated transformative change in Guyana and whose legacy must be continued.
In a statement on Thursday, the People’s National Congress (PNC) Leader spoke in high regards of Forbes Burnham, the founding leader of the PNC and former Prime Minister and first Executive President of Guyana. “Political independence, for him, was the gateway to the objective of economic independence. Economic independence necessitated the eradication of poverty, the elimination of inequality through education and the generation employment through economic empowerment,” he said, adding:
“Forbes Burnham initiated a transformative phase which, in retrospect, could be deemed a ‘decade of development,’ from 1965 to 1975. He encouraged self-reliance to stimulate local and village ingenuity and self-employment.”
Granger also brought attention to Burnham’s establishment of economic enterprises and institutions for the economic empowerment of Guyanese. Some of these included ensuring that the country was named ‘the Cooperative Republic’ of Guyana.
It coincided with the cooperative movement in Guyana which was launched to drive the development of villages, many of which suffered from poor infrastructure and, as a result, self-help initiatives were organised to promote domestic development.
Also highlighted was Burnham’s interest in the introduction and promotion of alternative technologies as a means of promoting the emergence of cottage and small- and medium-sized enterprises. These were essential to empowering poor households, boosting village economies and reducing rural poverty.
The past president also helped to mobilise capital and provide financial services for economic development. This was done through strengthening cooperative financial institutions such as the Guyana Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank, the Guyana Mortgage Finance Bank, the Guyana National Cooperative Bank and the Guyana Cooperative Insurance Service.
The current PNC Leader stated: “Forbes Burnham died thirty-five years ago on 6th August 1985 at the age of only 62 years. His ideals are not dead. His ideas on economic independence are as alive today as they were fifty years ago when they flourished. It was my proud duty, on 1st January this year, to launch the ‘Decade of Development, 2020-2029’ not as an imitation but, rather, as a continuation of our founder-leader’s work and a realisation of his vision for a prosperous nation. We, the heirs and successors, honour Forbes Burnham’s service to this nation. We recommit to the perpetuation of his legacy of economic emancipation and empowerment.”
On August 6, 1985 Burnham died at age 62 from heart failure during surgery on his throat at the Georgetown Hospital. Since then, his death anniversary has been observed each year to pay tribute to him.
