Sixty years ago I borrowed a bicycle owned by one of my uncles. Without his permission I placed it on the train that ran along the East Coast Demerara corridor and travelled to Georgetown. I was not going to miss the hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead and the lowering of the Union Jack.
That event was hosted at the National Park. The events that night, with fireworks and all the celebratory events, are indelibly etched in my mind.
After the flag raising, I parked the bicycle at a house at the corner of Lamaha and Albert Streets, Georgetown to tramp around the city behind at least two steel bands. That bike was there when I returned.
By sunrise I was tired but I rode all the way back to Beterverwagting. I returned the bicycle to a very angry uncle but his anger paled into insignificance to the fun I had.
Many of the older people were scared of what the future would hold for the country in the absence of the monarchy. The younger people were excited about the future.
Looking back over the years the older people had every reason to be afraid. Perhaps they foresaw the rapid rise in the poverty levels. Perhaps they saw the deliberate impoverishment of one section of the population.
They did not anticipate that the very principles the Romans used to keep the populace happy would be applied in Guyana. The Roman emperors staged games as a distraction. People flocked the colosseum to see barbarism.
They saw men battling each other with swords and spears. They saw men fighting against raging wild animals, often to the death. That provided a distraction from the harsh realities of life.
Sixty years after independence and nearly three thousand years after the Romans nothing has changed. The government sponsors entertainment via foreign artistes. Scores of hungry people, glad to escape from reality, flock to the entertainment, not even thinking about what they would eat hours later.
Sixty years ago the flag raising ceremony was all inclusive. All the political leaders were invited. They were all a part of the receptions that followed. They were integral to the fabric of national unity. A lot has changed over the years.
Less than two years after that hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead the government undertook two major projects. One was the construction of the roadway linking the coast to Linden. That road was built to last for at least twenty years. It lasted nearly forty. It was completed within two years.
The other project was the international airport. That airport stood for decades until it was expanded. Suffice it to say that Guyana did not have a large budget. There was no oil money but whatever money was spent was well spent.
The best contractors were selected and they knew that they were under international scrutiny. A lot has changed. Roads collapse months after they are constructed and the contractors are offered other contracts almost immediately.
There are no penalties. It is as if the government has adopted the saying in the Holy Bible, Matthew 3:17— “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The contractors can do no wrong and the ordinary man must pay for their mistakes.
Two years after it was constructed Heroes Highway is undergoing extensive repairs. Sidewalks collapse even before they are put into use and the list goes on. These things must have been seen by the older folks sixty years ago hence the dread they felt.
But even more disconcerting is the arrogance displayed by the government leaders, none less than President Irfaan Ali. At a recent press conference, a reporter asked him about a meeting with the Opposition leader.
The man who proclaimed that he is a leader for all the people responded that he did not understand the question.
On another occasion when he was asked about a plan for the development of the country he remarked that his government develops plans as it goes along. That would explain why it is preparing to forego billions of dollars in the gas to energy project at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
It must have been that he is keen to pursue the policy of a one-party state. There was no opposition presence at any of the events for the independence observations. None of the opposition members I approached was invited. They simply said that they had not been invited.
Perhaps there is only one political party in the country.
Guyana is the only country in this part of the world where the National Assembly does not meet unless pressed to do so by the international community. Jamaica has parliamentary sittings no fewer than two times a week.
The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago (both the House of Representatives and the Senate) typically meets on a weekly basis, usually convening on Tuesdays and/or Fridays.
When in session, the Houses regularly sit multiple times a month to debate bills, hold question-and-answer periods, and process motions.
The Parliament of Barbados (comprising the House of Assembly and the Senate) typically holds formal sittings on a monthly basis, though they are often called more frequently depending on the legislative agenda.
Guyana is so different that it stands out like a sore thumb. It will meet on June 6, according to Gail Teixeira. And this only after the diplomatic community made a call for sittings of the House.
Not one parliamentary committee has been convened. There are constitutional bodies that have not been constituted. There is no active service commission and certainly no functioning regulatory body.
But contracts are being awarded; monies are being spend and corruption is being exposed.
Small wonder that the Golden Arrowhead refused to flutter over Guyana at midnight on May 25, 2026.
