Guyana marks 59 Years of Independence with vision for unity, growth – GS Jagdeo

As Guyana is preparing to mark 59 years of independence from Britain on May 26, 2025, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, called on Guyanese to safeguard the nation’s hard-won gains and to recommit themselves to national unity and progress.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday at Freedom House in Georgetown, Dr Jagdeo, describing the upcoming anniversary as “another important milestone in Guyana’s history,” urged, “It is important that people remember that history and commit themselves to ensuring that we never go down that route again.”

The longtime political leader used the occasion to encourage public reflection on the challenges that have shaped Guyana’s modern history, while emphasising the importance of charting a course toward a more prosperous and equitable future.

“It allows us an opportunity to speak to the people of our country — not only about past challenges, but about where our country is headed,” Dr Jagdeo said.

According to the PPP GS, “We believe it is important to paint that picture for the people of the country, to lay out the vision for the future, to support that vision with well laid out plans and programmes, because the citizens of the country deserve that type of information, that type of clarity, as they plan their lives and their futures.”

Dr Jagdeo credited successive PPP/C administrations with pursuing an ambitious, people-centred development agenda.

“It is a vision that is focused on the needs of the people,” he added.

In outlining the party’s priorities, he highlighted plans for broad-based economic expansion, alongside investments in education, healthcare, housing, digital infrastructure, welfare, and job creation.

“We are the only Party in the country that has laid out detailed plans for economic development — whether it is in mining or agriculture or the hospitality sector or the other industries,” he said.

The PPP general secretary reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving the quality of life for all Guyanese, emphasising expanded homeownership, enhanced welfare services for children, seniors, and people with disabilities, and the advancement of a digital economy.

Dr Jagdeo recounted what he characterised as decades of authoritarian rule, economic mismanagement, and international isolation following independence in 1966.

“In the post-independence period, what did we have? We saw our country become an international pariah because of undemocratic, rigged elections,” he said.

He said, “Guyana was characterised as having massive economic decline and a mass exodus of our people, who were looking for jobs and welfare in different countries across the world…these things were part of our history.”

Between 1964 and 1992, Guyana endured nearly three decades of political repression and severe economic hardship.  By the late 1980s, the country’s external debt had surged to six times its GDP, while poverty and emigration soared.  A 1990 Commonwealth mission led by former CARICOM Secretary General Alister McIntyre ranked Guyana as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, trailing even Haiti.

Dr Jagdeo also levelled criticism at the opposition APNU+AFC Coalition, accusing it of economic mismanagement and undermining democratic institutions during its time in office from 2015 to 2020.

The PPP leader further underscored the attempts by the PNCR/APNU/AFC to subvert democracy in the aftermath of the 2020 general elections. “We nearly became [an international pariah] again in 2020 with their (PNCR/APNU/AFC) attempt to steal the elections,” Dr. Jagdeo claimed.

He also condemned the opposition’s earlier tenure in Parliament, accusing it of blocking major infrastructure and environmental projects between 2011 and 2015, when it held the majority in Parliament.

Since reclaiming office in 2020, the PPP government has overseen what Dr. Jagdeo described as a dramatic economic turnaround, fueled largely by the country’s burgeoning offshore oil industry. Guyana now boasts one of the fastest-growing economies globally, with debt-to-GDP ratios among the lowest in the hemisphere.

“We have come a long way…look at how far we have come and the difficult path that we walked in these short years, relatively short years, as a newly independent country,” he urged.

Guyana will commemorate its 59th anniversary of independence on May 26, 2025.