We celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, a true visionary and one of the greatest leaders that our country has ever had. As we reflect on his life and his contributions to our nation, it is impossible not to be struck by his profound dedication to the development and progress of Guyana.
One of Burnham’s lasting legacies is our nationhood, which he sought to buttress with initiatives which were directly conceived to build patriotism and a love of country and newfound identity. While we all now accept our destiny as Guyanese, we should try to envisage that at the time, this was a foreign concept that not all who lived in Guyana embraced. Indeed we owe our national identity as Guyanese to his strong representation and celebrated political acumen, which was brought to bear to ensure that our country emerged independent of colonial control.
Yes, many others contributed, but until his demise, Burnham sought to exemplify the potential of each and every Guyanese, championing the trappings of nationhood and espousing the right of every Guyanese to our national patrimony in ways that clothed us all in patriotic zest. To bring us from our ancestors’ shared past as residents of a colony, to the point where we celebrate this identity wherever we happen to be on the earth is truly a paradigm shift which Burnham fought for with so many of our other national heroes.
Burnham’s vision for Guyana was not just about politics; it was about creating a better future for all Guyanese. He saw the potential in every person, and he worked tirelessly to ensure that every citizen had access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity. He understood that a strong and prosperous Guyana required the participation and contribution of every single person, regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation.
To this end, one of Burnham’s strongest calls to Guyanese of every race or persuasion was to take up land, to pursue the ownership and indeed the cultivation of land in Guyana. This call to ownership was demonstrated with the creation of turn-key housing projects here in Linden. Guyanese were able to access turn-key housing in 1980 at a cost of G$12,000, or in 2023 dollars that cost would be approximately G$46,404. Of this, half of the cost was FREE and the homeowner repaid the remaining G$6,000 at an interest rate of 0%.
The houses have three bedrooms with living room, kitchen, toilet and bathroom, and before the housing scheme was opened, ALL of the relevant infrastructure was put in place, including drainage, asphalt roads that remain serviceable to this day, water supply and electricity. Notably too, the average plot of land for these homes is approximately 60ft by 200ft providing ample space for expansion, unlike what is on offer today.
In many ways, Burnham’s vision for Guyana was ahead of its time. He recognized the potential of our natural resources and worked to develop the infrastructure needed to harness them for the benefit of our people. So many of his outstanding projects and programmes have been regurgitated under new names that I would not attempt to name them all, but they all share the underpinnings of his great capacity for understanding the needs of this country we call home.
The current conversation about “Food Security” and the call to “Grow More Food” should acknowledge their roots in Burnham’s visionary plan of 50 years ago, to “Feed, Clothe and House the Nation”. Indeed, Region 10 owes the establishment of many of our most productive agricultural areas to the efforts of this great man to move our country forward.
Places like Kimbia, with its vast agricultural and cattle rearing operations, Ebini and the agricultural development infrastructure that serves Guyana to this day and so many other areas of our intermediate savannahs that are now seeing a resurgence of interest, owe their history of cultivation and agricultural production to Burnham’s efforts.
More recently, I was introduced to persons who have demonstrated interest in revamping the dairy farming capacity of the famed Moblissa Dairy project, another initiative that owes its establishment to the inspiration of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
In his foresight and recognition of people’s natural needs for self-determination, Bunham also recognized the importance of regional development, and his establishment of the Regional Government System laid the foundation for greater participation and empowerment at the local level. Indeed, the devolvement of authority and encouragement of greater participation at local levels extended to the creation of People’s Cooperative Units – PCU’s – which predated the more recent description of this level of self-governance known as Community Development Council or CDC’s that is currently being championed.
Burnham’s contributions to this part of Guyana in empowering agriculture in the rural and riverain communities and empowering self-governance in the more urban areas, are counterpoints to his contributions to the growth of Guyanese arts and culture through strong support for diverse festivals across the Guyanese calendar.
Mashramani, whose origins will always be rooted in Linden, was adopted as our signal National celebration as proof of this, as is his support for cultural festivals for all Guyanese regardless of persuasion, to the extent of having to weather criticism, justified or not, of Guyana having the most national holidays as a country.
But Burnham’s legacy is not just in his accomplishments; it is in the example he set for future generations. He believed in the power of hard work, determination, and a strong moral compass. He believed in the importance of self-reliance and self-determination. And he believed in the potential of the Guyanese people to achieve greatness.
As we celebrate Burnham’s 100th birth anniversary today, let us remember the vision he had for our country and let us recommit ourselves to his ideals of unity, progress, and opportunity for all. Let us work together to build a better future for our children and grandchildren, one that honors the legacy of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham and the values he held dear.
