This month is Black History Month and quite fortuitously it is the birth month of the late Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, First Chairman of the People`s Progressive Party, Founder of the People`s National Congress, First Prime Minister of Guyana and First Executive President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Those achievements by themselves are significant achievements and milestones in the political life of Guyana. Surely those accomplishments make him worthy of recognition during this month, which is dedicated to the acknowledgement and celebration of the achievements of people of African descent. That he occupied those offices is beyond dispute and cannot be denied by those who would wish to besmirch him.
To his credit, there are other significant achievements that have elevated him to the status of an esteemed statesman. CARIFESTA, the Caribbean Festival of Arts, which was birthed and hosted in Guyana in 1972 and which, to date, remains the Caribbean`s most iconic cultural event, was his original idea to which he committed the resources of Guyana for its eventual fructification. Legacies of that first CARIFESTA include the construction of the National Cultural Centre and Festival City, all being factual and physical evidence of his contribution to Guyana`s development and regional leadership.
He was also a Founding Father of CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Area) and subsequently CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market) which gave birth to the CCJ (Caribbean Court of Justice) and CXC (Caribbean Education Council), among other institutions, which are taken for granted even as they impact the lives of the Caribbean peoples on a daily basis and in a fundamental way.
Beyond reproach is his contribution to the liberation struggle in Africa. Financial and material assistance was provided to the struggle in Southern Africa, South Africa and Zimbabwe, in particular. In his support for African Liberation, his most daring endeavour was his contribution to the liberation of Angola. He provided the Cubans with the logistical support to move their troops to Angola in solidarity with MPLA (People`s Movement for the Liberation of Angola) in their confrontation with the military might of South Africa and other reactionary forces, which were seeking to maintain the imperial yoke on Angola. The United Nations and its various councils, including the Security Council and the Council for Namibia were some of the international fora where the “big voice” and “intellectual authorship” of “little Guyana” resounded and made a significant historic impact in the struggle against imperialism.
On the local front, Burnham introduced rural electrification; rural potable water; tarmacked and all-weather roads across the coast from Charity to Corriverton and inland along the East Bank of Demerara all the way to Linden; universal education up to the secondary level and free education from nursery to secondary schools; and universal health services, to mention but a few.
Notwithstanding all of the aforementioned achievements, there are those who only vilify Burnham although they themselves were/are the direct and indirect beneficiaries of his policies and developmental endeavours. Of course Burnham was neither perfect, infallible or saintly but his contributions were tangible, impacting and foundational, much of which have endured the test of time and served as the springboard for further development.
Burnham should therefore be critiqued rather than only criticized, as many seek to do. Through fair-minded critique the Nation can build on his achievements, distill lessons learned, and avoid his pitfalls. Unfortunately that has not been the case, in the main. For example, one of Burnham`s costly mistakes was the building of the costly Upper Mazaruni infrastructure, mainly the road, in anticipation of funding for and the construction of the Upper Mazaruni Hydropower Scheme. The funding never materalised. The said mistake was repeated and probably magnified in the instance of the road to the Amelia Falls Hydropower project. Monies were wantonly spent on that road but funding for the project was not realized. Once again money wasted because of the apparent taboo of learning from our past experience.
The commemoration of the life of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham coincides with the universal observation of Black History Month but both have been greeted with deafening silence from a Government that purports to govern for all but apparently has no time to recognize the achievements of people of African Descent. Burnham is separated out for vilification and only vilification while the invaluable contribution of Guyanese of African Descent to the very creation of this Nation`s civilization remains one of the best kept secrets – not acknowledged, not celebrated.
