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Interview in Guyana Review

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Interview in Guyana Review Cover & Leaders President Cheddi B. jagan on Independence Review: Outline your basic goals setbacks in the last twenty-eightyears at the time Guyana gained Inde- of the last [PNC] administration. pendence; in the political, eco- For instance, the rate of growth we nomic, and socio-cultural arenas. achieved in the 1957-1964 period Jagan: I shared similar goals with in the dominant sector were as fol- my colleagues who formed the Po- lows: ten per cent in rice, eight per litical Affairs Committee (PAC) in cent in manufacturing - which was 1946, to attain Independence so totally new, with the industrial es- that we could break from foreign tate we set up, and giving other colonial domination, and have facilities to the private sector - and political freedom, economic eman- seven per cent in sugar and baux- cipation and cultural freedom. Our ite. Had those figures been main- objective was to carry out political tained, and there was no reason and ideological education of the why it should not have been main- people, and lay the foundations tained throughout the twenty-eight for a political party, which we were years when we [the PPP] were in able to forge in 1950, then with Dr Cheddi Jagan, President of the Coop- the Opposition, Gu yana would have that foundation we were elected erative Republic of Guyana, was born 22 been, today, a model third-world to Government in 1953. March 1918 at Port Mourant, Corentyne. country. And Gu yana would have Basically, as one trade unionist He attended Howard University (1936-1938), been [ranked] far higher, in terms stated in an article recently, what the Central YMCA College (1939-1942) and of living standards in southern part is necessary in Guyana today is to Northwestern University Dental School ( 1938- of the western hemisphere - Latin capture the spirit of 1953, when 1942), and holds a Bachelor of Science America and the Caribbean. we had national, racial, ethnic and degree and is a Doctor of Dental Surgery. During 1957-1964, Guyana was brack- working class unity. He organised the formation of the Politi- eted with the Most Developed Coun- Review: But did this spirit still cal Affairs Committee in 1946, and founded tries (MDCs). When we got back in exist at the time of Independence? the People's Progressive Party (PPP) in 1950. the government Gu yana was among Jagan: No, this spirit was broken An elected member of the Legislative As- the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) with the split of the Party. The sembly from 1947 to 1953, President Jagan and bracketed with two of the low- factionalism was engineered by out- headed, and was Minister of Agriculture in, est developed countries in the hemi- side forces and opportunist ele- an elected PPP government from April to sphere: Bolivia and Haiti. ments who went along to master- October of 1953. From 1957 to 1961, and Review: Do you think that the act mind the split in the People's Pro- as Premier from 1961 to 1964, he headed of gaining Independence changed gressive Party (PPP). Since then elected PPP governments, holding the Min- that situation between 1953 and 1966? we have had ups and downs, up- isterial portfolios for Trade and Industry, Jagan: No, it did not. It was only heavals, and we have not really and Development and Planning, respec- symbolic in the sense that we got a attained the goals of Independence tively. He was Leader of the Opposition flag, a coat-of-arms, a national an- that we had set in that early pe- (1966-1973, 1976-1992) until his election them. But the government did not riod. to the Presidency in October 1992. pursue a consistent policy of na- Review: Would you say they have President Jagan was President of the Rice tional development. The PNC vac- since been attained, in the thirty Producers' Association (1952-1953), and illated. It took machiavellian posi- years since Independence? is Honorary President of the Guyana Agri- tions politically, and as a result, we Jagan: No, after Independence cultural and General Workers' Union (since went from one crisis to another. they have still not been attained. 1970), General Secretary of the PPP (since Let us take the 1966-1972 devel- We are now trying. I made the 1970), and President of the Guyana Peace opment plan. We argued, when it point when I was sworn in as Presi- Council and Member of the Presidential was produced, that it was based on dent in 1992. We are going to start Council of the World Peace Council (since the Puerto Rican model which was where we left off when we were 1975). His published works include Forbid- not, conceptually, in the interest of forced from the government in den Freedom (1954-1955), The West on the people. This was fathered by 1953, and again when the rigged Trial: the Fight for Guyana's Freedom (1966, Professor Arthur Lewis who brought constitutional arrangement of Pro- 1967, 1972, 1975, 1980), Caribbean Revo- in the Puerto Rican model in the portional Representation (PR) was lution (1979), and The Caribbean: Whose Caribbean - 'Industrialization by brought in, with all the violence Backyard? ( 1984). Invitation', they called it. We were and so on, in 1964. So we had the only ones who criticised it at 4 Guyana Review, June 1996 Cover & Leaders . the beginning; others, such as academics, later on joined Jagan: Yes, in the same way that we are making progress and said that it was a hopeless model. now, in spite of what is happening in the rest of the world. The PNC, compared to the PPP's $110M plan for 1961- Look around the world. The welfare state is being dis- 1964, had a $300M plan for 1966-1972, but before the mantled, in an attempt to solve the crisis at the expense period came to an end, Wilfred David - who was then the of the people. The question is not whether it should be Economic Advisor to the government - remarked that we cut, but by how much should it be cut. That is the big fight had growth, but without development, exemplified by a now ensuing in the US between the White House and the high level of unemployment and foreign dependency. Congress, dominated by two different parties. You have So, if you look at what happened immediately after Inde- in Europe the same problem; in France, in Germany. The pendence - Guyana embraced the road to economic French government had to retreat with some of their dependency, totalitarianism and cultural degradation. impositions against the working people, after there was a There was ideological, political, economic influence from three-week strike. Right now the workers are striking in outside. I wanted to put Dr Clive Thomas as the head of Germany. More importantly, they are refusing to index the Bank of Guyana at the time. However they brought a wages to inflation. And in mans' cases, even in the United German to head our national bank. They also put [Chris- States of America, wages do not go up and keep abreast topher Nascimento in Burnham's office to ensure with productivity. that everything was going well and according to the We have gone further than that. We have gone beyond dictates of those who put the PNC in power. inflation. For example, this year we are giving a 15 per I would say that, like in so many countries, Indepen- cent increase in salaries. This amounts to an increase of dence did not bring to the Guyanese people what they eight per cent to cushion the efforts of inflation and keep fought for during the years of struggle and sacrifices. up with inflation, and another seven per cent for other Review: What other direction could the country have things like productivity. We are looking to improve the taken over the last thirty years? quality and standard of living rather than just looking to Jagan: We are now showing what could have been done maintain it by meeting the inflation rate. As you know, we then. The progress that we [the PPP-Civic] made in the gave 134 per cent increases in wages in the last three last three years can be credited to three factors. First of years, as against a 40 per cent rate of inflation. These all, confidence of the people: confidence was restored principled positions are not given their rightful praise and Guyanese who are here have a new feeling of hope in because base wages were so low when this administration our future. Those who are abroad are thinking of coming took over. But we will continue to make improvements in back; some have already done so. Secondly, the goodwill the standard of living of Guyanese. from agencies, locally and abroad, and different persons Review: Independence was very important to the country who are helping us in one way or another, especially in at that time, and this spirit is reflected in a very famous the financial sector. We are talking about democracy with photograph of yourself and former President Burnham a fuller meaning, not just voting at elections. As we say, embracing after Guyana's flag first went up. It was a it must not only be representative and consultative, but symbolic achievement for our nation and it is fair to say, most important, participatory; and we are doing that at regardless of the political or ethnic splits among the different levels now, with what we call co-management. people at the time, that there was some unity in purpose At the workplace, workers and unions sit with managers to have collective decision-making and better manage- ment, and similarly, at the community level.
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