The new year, like the dawn of a new day, offers us the opportunity to grow, to learn, to be better than we were. Like the blank leaves of a yet-to-be-written book, each new day in 2023 will gift us another opportunity to author Guyana’s future through our thoughts, words, and deeds.
Let us resolve to dedicate our energies towards building that new Guyana that our forefathers envisioned -one that is free, fair, just, and inclusive.
As leaders and elected representatives, we are called to be the vanguard of the vision of One People, One Nation, One Destiny! The challenges that will come will be great, but we are Guyanese, we are strong, and it is that strength of spirit that we will call upon to see us safely through.
But equally great will be the opportunities – the opportunity to shun division and strife, the opportunity to be fair in our dealings and utterances, the opportunity to defend the downtrodden and plead the cause of the poor, regardless of their race or political affiliation. And we must make good of these opportunities with the same strength and diligence, for this is how we will forge this nation’s mighty soul.
As the words of the prayer of the National Assembly exhort:
“Grant us, O God, the vision so to lead, that all the people of this fair land may enter into that state of brotherhood and unity, where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action.
… that we may together build a land where knowledge is free, where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high, and where words come from the depth of truth”.
May we be strengthened by our respective faiths for the journey ahead.
