Be 1 'Ci.0 so 1 0 to

-ai t3a - ' r

CO-

• b

811.4;1craCy"

)y janet

1 iQflg ilk,

Th ppoplPS

pgrESStIP Party (PPP) won office on

flce" I )CCa°5' \VS .deposed two i;irnes and worked in a

. r j . e ft

S. e • , - .

1 mkjs!,.rnniefit under oiomat rule. Th.: at meant that the

t t '1.ovefl)ecI in.terraiTY as

A;}. e lt3ritiSh held the key nosts

?O]itjeiv 3t ii'ance (in 1961 this :port1i0 was handed over to a

. kJ9Ufldei DV? r#rjnistET} forelgfl poT!i(kV, security and the civil sex'-

Ch Caj ;nder those difficu1tes frnn 01

p • vzue. . .-It . a S La FPfl.fll the Mother C —'St

ountfli and the, colossus of ) a LA; In-nc in &iit aL JUS. aa.ao

tad ur 1105tJUL%' 1:A '"

too f! n:,t1i <USA) , it was not ,easY going.

0 Wha j wu2d office today if it were not for

t p the ngged elections th 1 iiave taken place since the CIA,

iarne W and other forces deposed the goven'irnent in 1964.. ble.? O. 'ymat IS said lfl the context of 'what folloWs an. o.ccount

SO ?. N Q! our tsmiy remarkable achievements in the face of

:> fl t1 many obstaC1&S achievements were won by our adherence to de'"o

hon jnocrattc methods and the techniques we used to overr thrigl; come a bureaucracy bl..Uitain to prevent an substantial LLe %? 'gains ty the PPP. What we did, has some significance

£rLLULA today in new of the battles elsewhere to overcome tlw

ur B!

growth and dominance. LSritwu bu.'trtn problems arisin '

n ' I s.! 4! 1 g out ot st'uitinying oureaue±ttuie

ant _ of course. Guyanaa small country a microcosm of what exists elsewhere. Yet, sometimes, even microcosms have lessons to teach.

When we took office for the second time in 1951 the first In 1953, lasted only 133 days and then the British moved in their marines and threw us out of . Were five ministers in charge of agriculture,

. education, health, housing, labour, trade and community development and

L 19 tiuned above, the key ministri t of the Btitish colonialists.

office) we t

Al As mene communications.

es were kept in the hands

A fw were make a of what was befo us? A,11. We eh the path of the people, closeness to the workers %1:Pt1•.,. Yfltts, keeDln g them infonTmd of all we were

dtMr •king theth to help with the problems and the 8flding of soiutio.n.

0 —

P did our L& e

to C 4Wt .r win Over the burell I

whom Wt had to work (its it (j4y44)44y bagj, w

,lowlyJiwo1v1fl t1jem In the work before u, For q

wJs we saw the need for more health &scrvic3 in tj tant wts of ate, cüun try , in tue river and interk

Of GUYaM,it was found that writing minut" t" for ductt)rS or nurses tO make regular visit; to

I

points got us nowhere. They remained on paper In 7 tucked neatly away

Then we began involving civil ar7, p,.Iv hilt the1

flountiy Trips desks, and knew ve

Seflarits, ir) I i• t•

little of were

plamied up rivers (Guyana j

.

las the land of many waters it has numeru Ivetticrt along tlw banks and key civiln

st

d U) accompany theminister, We carried baskets. of as there are no such thing. as rants or LJL4A. 4K and the trips became an adventure and someth1g pier)i(!. txC!ept that there WiC a lot of wnrk tn 1&a ..a—_

TIw: civil se - -. r - rvants saw t1rie needs and sufferj tue

ji(joplu, and could s12J0t help but L)#.j SJrnthptfr

,: !4:'1 r! a COaOJX9 4.. £ - - - -

ration In getting pre- and ring, in all the nrenarn+i*r few swan-a 1 r— 4%JL

tors and provision of equipment, fuM

ore, #tor P n t

ad &e..mtd . irnposfl,j to organist a erlor health care. Soon it became a

TkA\Tp much n1ta sit I t'ri ii! si n 1' ;J*VcL •• A t St sat, tJ4 aL44.LCVtJ1AtflL tA) r ' - sat glued to their desks very day. t the health services grc w as never bd Si too For example, goverxmientp 1! C ty 110ispitai siaJj o ST

UNXIF p - fA%**%W Uzeu U PIe it' fees Which they were not ge, bu P A re1etip Carflpg began to j PCOPIC',the free medical Care they were supj%I t* After IIfltje e1fort; St Y Worked. It

n=1 118t btM id ern emb that the People's Pr. live Party Iugj 110 Say UI the fiiring or ffiilaig Of 4 'Sits '11'at wa kept str i LUte IlancLs of th C letiv e UVCfJL(yr- j'}

w€ had tn vozk anti .. ced within KWX%CWU1k WQ fo U

1 4iSstej's spent tin3f. at li/IP j ' 11jts A 4j) • 'VUuissng and diseusmng

! H rr'w'aya1t, L(j-1 I.,, - I. Peopk uni;i !'i1e Cotlfldence in our governO, H 1tt.

Ts xl OW' iLniitatsoxis and gave

r

4

I luLl 1tpiid 1i 1I'flLJI 1%' 18 ntIs that enniri . 1-P fill valpod

I 1trY nil the administrative knots which liar]

t1n?!0i,4 wr "in 1tO1i t1h • P"°P' (iuy.nci has .Iways been

I' d 111pt tiir;, 1 gte8ipl )). Linti of its In has alwaya

ar ji1;I%k! I I ' '

IAic stEItO. (1 ?w 148n1 I p c Ptva.e lands Is re 10

I aft,ci$)i1t;' in cotflPfltIShl 1(1 the nniiunt of state landf;~, IVch1i• 11 bi)u-I3 CaLi be ieased tO fat tt1(I!. R!Jt bpfrJr2 our

fLit,: ifl4 ca to nilice, this was i.IifiicuIt to af.hlp. ave g jpl 1 1t i)nir.l1CI11(V created nanv obstacles

" jiSt-" tjIJ• - %

I %d • .

, hA N1' ti:I%'r pIRflt'1 ac!.yt I 11 1 ii,s qii.esl It it' a cheap and ci bun-'

1 j%)1ir forre 1114 and around the sugar Plantations,

notjtc1flh ! turd ti.,e land. \Ve began Opening up the

wII ii settt.Ifl1.,Itj, farmers ()fl a cu-opex'ative baths. We

e a$' ;in:ut4rs I . ' I ;1rnlers to plant the crops we needed, I f 'q\( .- .. -

4 . w

. 1t?(x Win' 1(l1')iittt$ (4) \VC could stop importing edible oil and

' , jifi

c1r

fl9/t COPt'1 to manufacture into coconut oil. f

41•il I c:! .

tA)( to overhaul our educati onal system nfl II?

41d t4 UI1V111 'L to local history, culture and life in GUY SM t1114t/tanl of its British orientation. Children were still

natt T('CUIi?'R

iWout apples but apples do not grow in Guyana. 'el (t

a: Wt' liuilb neW schools in the countryside and encouraged fluing famIlies t#0 start sending their girls to school instead of

Id with kepinp them at home to do domestic work. That worked

. too. , rea 1 And we began the process of ending the system of e \v "tititti corltn)l" Of schools: governintent paying for the

1 upkeen of the schools and teachers' salaries while the id (hnRtlarj churches appointed and promoted the teachers ri4 wlinin!i4ered the schools -

a system which was Ufle

Lse'à ELW1 educationally and ciiscrimnatorv to non-Chris-

111tIans, Our initiative was welcomed by the people, but ye tbrougit out the wrath particularly o the Catholic ?1X'0 thurch, which charged that we wanted to "communise OZ

•'oØi We urged the developin(,nt pur ru

øehase farm machinery and gave themall help and en ifltittOUragpfljeflt Not Just

Ofl paper, ali but in rety Our mm xl

aa 'r went out and t,aikeri to farmer% guided them en - I 'I _

a

S

: ' 1) ii F 2i ' e thcam - - — - - S r

-- ---

wai,q; and celebrated with them when tney

C machinery At one time, a minister cracked a

mefltf thetr rIcl poured the twater over the machine, instead

tht4Jle pf~_, 1cuiitAonai wine or champagne. We were making

pity to :

e X)flSdous of their own identitY and their abi- I .

p foo Solve their problems.

r '1 —p

As a result;, in our second term t

1961, rice production Went up 72 rw'r cent; Ground provisions 1 18 per cent; milk 25 per cent: nnii1tn Iq 44

Office from 1. Cents It

n tPra CCt, lIVcstck a . y ctu per cent &fld nib •77 per cent. Our efforts Paid

off. Tlle~ People felt Cg ei . their governii and were happy its SUcce — We were careful to avoid corruption . We had a

I shake up in the early period. One of Our five was suspected Of

. using lfltOrrnation to enhance minot "A IGR

and make a lot of mony1 L!e was removed from

. We made it clear from the very start that we Woj sta •1 no flOn€nse, no corruption DO personal fflat€J?j ga M

inisters were not allowed to cceptgifts of any -

I- in 'any form. or from anyone., Wo flipped in the bud 01 of the worst evils a governe can face.

;J

When our first public lowin c. o

was finished we faced the rne housing sch

these problem of how to alloca aw :

rn uch needed dwelling wi s thout patronage or I ) .

VOjfljtj The minister along with the civil servants 4

411 the ministry, who by that time were working well .

IVI .

not like bureaucrats, Worked out a fair and equitable sy I

tern based on the needs of famines Those living under t . für Worst conditions, the greatStovercrowdin9and who ha& £ the riost children to house were given ftrst prionty. T A poin:

ts system was worked out and adhered to aM;, arDi c it1 worked well. There were no charges of biibent or av ing favourites or crivinn

__4.' -- is ' I

aaaj . raruy Members first. preferencet. But to keep the a11ocatjo WOrking Properly took A 'Ra great deaJ of managen

checks and more checks. When land (171acresW as being thstribuf, 111 9 Land Settlement. Scheme a big hue ana cry Went up te wrong h peoçle had been given the thA Off

h al first 1 uq process was ted and a 00 plots. fat! S3te' of location W9 work al worked out based on necu. Ttez v. w

-aq fOufld that sonlf 'U People were Pro%iding fa1s It1fOrfljOfl Therefore 01' ! th1 forin had to he Properly attested And the Procedurs"

: was ac1opt€ci to read °it the ttT)PI i(afi()fl forms at+ a pub' to

lie meeting of the appltc to ascertain the verJy Otj

the claims T1adf On lafw aPP1t!!E11 1flrrns. " Because of our rnaiiy

retrtLiflt8 many of then finarV4Ah cial, we had 1x try to çfr thingg j- a way vthj

lk

out overspending a! flltfling -Yond What je4I

We needed to expand elettrtc4t,v j.

at that tn rw

thel . 4 of !getown \J aervf,(t We haA t.... a '-aa

C 1 i

L '

tSu 'U Cxpan and e ii- --- I

4

!! tr„Sport services and we dearly wanted a university . for

39I ouyat spending much. we btgan our university as r witho ft

1tght school . in the main high school of Georgetown. ?ios j-IoW our enemies laughed at u& They called it "Jagan's I ' night school”. But we made a start and began in a gjJ I t4 vaV the University of Guyana which has grown into a L1Itst 1 j.iiedged university of hi to oerngher education IN 0 LA

fhnQP who never before had a chance. S

OftWhat should have taken three years, to establish ace d StRi rding to UNESCO advisers the need for buildings [ gat and professors . we achieved in one year with late after- y nOOfl and evening instruction through the utillsation lad Ot of this secondary school building and teachers and prC-

lessors who had been witch-hunted in the MeCarthyite witching era in the united States.

schei We had a super river boat, capable of ferrying a large Uoc number of vehicles and passengers across our wide rivers, or constructed in England. Then, we had two more con-

ants trueted in the same manner, made locally. The three ell ai river boats, crossing Guyana's three main rivers daily. ble sy were a solution to a problem that had nagged the nation ,der t. for years. rho , We nationalised the Canadian-owned electricity rme ty. plant, modernised it and extended electricity to the rural tog areas, lighting them up

)r pi3 the electricity Vetf fee:s to the co

for the first time ever. We made company profitable without increasing

nsumers. How? By good managements de- S 'flocratically run. as. Because of our simple achievements and 1A it ness with the working neCD1e we were voted

our close- back into

: office in 1961, even though the British tned to prevent -- S o

D this by manipulating the boundaries of the constituencies. on We stood for democratisation of all governn ent in- t so stitutions. We insisted and WOfl the dernocratisation of ore ; the Rice Marketing Board, the se1lng agent of the farmers' )cedt l'iCeby putting farmers in a gmrnanding position. Fror

tO 7 the-Guyana Rice Marketing Board had 16 a4K' bers with the statutory farmers' Rice producerst Associa-

- _ a-

id tiori (RPA) having only 8. whenever there was a clash

0 the chairman, drawn from one of the colonial govername,

4M ment's 8 nominees, used his casting vote against the in y terest ci the rice Tarmers. 00 vJv theRopdA, 'Ile

e PPP government amended the law and gave out of the 16 memberS And because far-

d q dominant voice in their own. industry, it ii metes nailed pro uction increased at a phenomenal rats. rk. ,

farmers prospered. The board that governed the:Likatill_ •

ttrillecitv company was also made up largely of workers:70- found that democratisation worked and we sincere', lieved and applied this concept in all thing's we did, be,

All this wns late undone when we were kicked of office in 19644 Now, without democratisation, !Rita "S even the right to free and fair elections, the count;ril 0 bankrupt, Production has plummet-Rd so much, that tilt: I sugar, bauxite and rice producing country cannot la; duce to satisfy foreign markets and provide enough and sugar for local consumption. Now the governme n a importing sugar for local consumption,

*Working people work hard for their countenj when w they know that they really have a say in what goes on. ; Remove this and everything falls, iricluding product*, co-operaticn and good will,

fa

espeasesesteaseas te__1__tail

.1.14.

THE CONTRIBUTORS: 41 Janet Jagan. Member of Parliament, Executive S&• , of Mirror. retary in the Central Committee of the PPP, and editor I edl

0 Moses Nagamootoo. Member of the Executive Com- rnittee of the PPP; senior journalist at Minor. • Gail Teixeira. Member of the Executive Committe Organisation

4

of the PPP; and executhve of the Women's Progressive • Clement itesee. in the Central Committee of

the PPP Secretary for International Mita§