DR. CHEDDI JAGAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEECHES VOLUME 4 The National Assembly of the First Parliament of Guyana May 1966 - July 1968 1 Dr. Cheddi Jagan National Assembly Speeches Volume 4 With a Preface by Dr. Roger Luncheon This edition © The Government of Guyana, 2011 Preface © Roger Luncheon 2010 Cover design by Peepal Tree Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission. Published by The Caribbean Press for the Government of Guyana. This publication was made possible by the support of the Peepal Tree Press (Leeds), the University of Warwick Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Stud- ies, and the Government of Guyana. ISBN 978-1-907493-25-6 2 PREFACE Dr. Jagan was first elected to the Legislature of British Guiana in 1947 and served until 1992, a span of almost fifty years in elected public office. Dur- ing his period as a Legislator/Member of Parliament 1947 – 1953, Dr. Jagan served as an elected member; as a Head of Government 1957 – 1964 in the pre Independence period; and as a Leader of the Opposition Party in Par- liament 1964 – 1992, until the PPP was returned to power in 1992. In 1997, he died in Office as Head of State and Head of the PPP/Civic Government. Compiled in chronological order, these volumes contain Dr. Jagan’s speeches made in Legislative Assembly/Parliament during his long career there. These speeches reflect his consummate attention to events that de- veloped during the important periods in Guyana, the Caribbean region and the world. Dr. Jagan was elected and entered the Legislative Assembly in the colo- nial era. The inequities and inhumanity of that period (the post World War II period) was the arena in which he started his life and career as a politi- cian. With universal suffrage and the political party of his creation, the PPP, he entered the legislature and piloted the PPP that was poised to take British Guiana to Independence. Betrayed by the Western powers, the PPP was removed from office in 1964 and led in Parliament as the Opposition Party for twenty-eight years. In 1992 his party regained power, removing the PNC after a free and fair election. Dr. Jagan’s speeches illustrate his humanism, his dedication to the work- ing people, the poor and the powerless. He spoke as an Internationalist, joining his and Guyana’s voice in the struggle for national liberation, inde- pendence and development. During the Cold War years, he argued for peaceful co-existence and non-alignment. His major contributions dealt with national issues impacting on socio-economic development in Guyana. He proposed initiatives that were well thought-out and carefully crafted, and which enjoyed the support of Guyanese. He emphasised good governance, economic planning and a tripartite economy. He exposed excesses and wrong-doings during the colonial regime and under the PNC Government and fought tirelessly in Parliament to succour the victims of colonialism and PNC misrule. For him, democratic Government needed to address issues of economic justice, for the sake of global security. The unnecessary and cruel wastage of human talent was his major concern. As he once de- clared, “Democracy can only prosper in an environment of economic, so- cial and ecological development. Poverty atrophies the vigour and initia- tive of the individual and deprives the society of incalculable human re- 3 sources. If left unattended, the expansion of poverty with hunger and the hopelessness it engenders will undermine the fabric of our civilisation and the security of the democratic state, thus threatening world peace.” He was equally passionate in the cause of environmental protection, recognising an intimate linkage with human economic development but also the hu- man spiritual hunger for beauty. He put it memorably thus : “... the natu- ral resources of our planet must be utilised for the benefit of mankind in such a way that they remain available for future generations, and that in the process of utilisation, fullest measures are taken to prevent environ- mental degradation. Sustainable development is an all embracing process which is centred on human development. There are two major needs which have to be satisfied. One is to use natural resources for the material and spiritual upliftment of all people. The other is to maintain the delicate balance in nature reflected in the various eco systems adorning our planet.” Cheddi Jagan was, and is, the adornment of our country. His record of serv- ice is unsurpassable and the history of the party he led is intimately inter- woven into the essence of things Guyanese. Dr. Roger Luncheon Head of the Presidential Secretariat 4 Biographical Summary of Dr. Cheddi Jagan Name: Cheddi Berret Jagan Date of Birth: March 22,1918. Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice, Guyana Died March 6, 1997 Parents: Son of indentured plantation workers; mother (Bachaoni) and father (Jagan) along with two grand mothers and an uncle came to the then British Guiana from Uttar Pradesh, India. Personal : Married August 5, 1943, to Janet Rosenberg of Chicago, Illinois USA; has two children: Cheddi (Joey) and Nadira Education: 1933-1935: Queen’s College, Georgetown 1936-1938: Howard University, Washington, D.C. USA 1938-1942: Northwestern University. Dental School, Chicago, USA, Doctor Dental Surgery (DDS) 1938-1942: Central YMCA College, USA. Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) Trade Union and Political Career: 1946: Organised and spearheaded the formation of the Political Affairs Committee and the PAC Bulletin. 1947-1953: Elected Member of the Legislative Council 1950: Founded the People’s Progressive Party. 1952-1953: President of the Rice Producers’ Association. 1953: From April to October, headed PPP elected government and was Minister of Agriculture 1954: Spent 6 months in jail for breaking movement restrictions order. 5 1957-1961: Headed second elected PPP government and was Minister of Trade and Industry. 1961 –1964: Headed the third elected PPP government as Premier and Minister of Development and Planning. 1964-1973; 1976-1992: Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition. 1970-1997: Honorary President, Guyana Agricultural General Worker’s Union; General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party. Oct 9, 1992- Mar 6, 1997: President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. 6 Contents Address of Thanks for Constitutional Instruments: 26th May, 1966 ........... 1 Death of Mr. Stephen Campbell: 26th May, 1966 ............................................ 3 Motion - Death of Sir Eustace Woolford, O.B.E., Q.C.: 26th May, 1966 ...... 4 Motion - Death of Mr. Charles Chan-A-Sue, M.P.: 27th July, 1966 ............... 5 Inadequate Notice of Meetings of the National Assembly: 25th August, 1966 .................................................................................................................. 6 Ministry of Economic Development (New) Establishment of Productivity Centre: 29th August, 1966 ......................................................... 7 Ferry Terminals: 29th August, 1966 .................................................................. 8 Special Visits and Representation at External Conferences .......................... 9 Ministry of Health, Subhead 10 – Drugs and Medical Appliances - $120,000 ......................................................................................................... 10 Presentation of Speaker’s Chair: 15th November, 1966 ............................... 11 Tribute to the Late Mr. James Isaac Ramphal ................................................ 13 National Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill: 23rd November, 1966 15 National Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill: 7th December, 1966 ... 27 Rent Restriction Ordinance: 9th December, 1966......................................... 32 Guyana Defence Force Subhead 4 – rations - $48,000 ................................. 35 Caribbean Free Trade Association Agreement: 29th December, 1966 ....... 36 Gastro Enteritis Epidemic: 20th January, 1967 .............................................. 45 Approval of Estimates of Expenditure: 30th January, 1967 ......................... 47 Estimates of Expenditure: 6th February, 1967 ............................................. 59 Public and Police Service Commissions ......................................................... 60 Estimates of Expenditure: 7th February, 1967 ............................................... 63 Head 12- Attorney General- Official Receiver............................................... 65 Head 13- Ministry of External Affairs ............................................................ 67 Head 13 – Ministry of External Affairs (cont.): 8th February, 1967 ........... 68 Estimates of Expenditure: 9th February, 1967 ............................................... 72 Estimates of Expenditure: 10th February, 1967 ............................................. 75 Estimates of Expenditure: 14th February, 1967 ............................................. 77 Ministry of Finance ........................................................................................... 80 Motion of Sympathy on Death of Sir Frank Worrell: 14th March, 1967 .... 81 On National Religious Holidays: 15th March, 1967 ..................................... 82 On International Relations /Foreign Policy: 20th March, 1967 ................... 84 Land Agreement with C.D.C.: 28th March, 1967 .......................................... 97 Guyana Pandits’ Council (Incorporation) Bill: 31st March, 1967..............106 Emergency Sitting of the National Assembly: