Last Updated on Friday, 15 May 2026, 21:44 by Writer
President Irfaan Ali on Friday night appealed to especially young Guyanese to shed 60 years of racial and political divisions — since Guyana’s 1966 political independence — and join him in forging national unity under one umbrella, even as he recognised that prosperity alone cannot achieve that goal.
“Prosperity alone does not guarantee unity. In fact, prosperity without social cohesion, division is difficult to be managed,” he said.
In apparent reference to Guyana’s booming oil sector, Dr Ali singled out inclusivity as a major pathway to sustainable development and national unity.
“When development is inclusive, unity becomes natural. When development is exclusive, division becomes inevitable. If politics has been a source of division, then let us use this 60th (independence) anniversary to ensure that culture unites us,” he said.
He reiterated his government’s commitment to ensuring that the benefits of national growth are widely shared, fairly distributed, transparently delivered, and collectively celebrated.
The three parliamentary opposition parties often accuse the Ali administration of corruption, shoddy work, award of contracts to political favourites, all charges the government has for the most part denied.
Targeting youths in his address to declare open the “Guyana Festival” at the Providence National Stadium as part of Guyana’s 60th independence anniversary celebrations, he said they were not responsible for past divisions.
He urged them to take up the responsibility of shedding prejudice and old arguments that do not build new futures.
“Instead, become the generation that finally makes One Guyana real at home in our schools, workplaces, communities, and in the relations we build with persons of other ethnicities. I place my trust in you, young Guyana, our young people. You are the generation that can turn diversity into destiny,” he said.
Elsewhere, a few weeks ago he had named his People’s Progressive Party (PPP) as the vehicle for achieving national unity similar to 1950.
With the split of the PPP in 1955, Guyana’s political landscape has been largely polarised between Indo-Guyanese who support that party and Afro-Guyanese who back the People’s National Congress Reform/A Partnership for National Unity (PNCR/APNU).
The President said Guyana’s multiculturalism should be used to unite the country and respect diversity.
He asked Guyanese to honour the nation’s independence by relegating habits of the old order that have no place in a modern nation.
Tourism minister Susan Rodrigues said the three-day Guyana Festival includes heritage villages, cultural showcases, and live demonstrations highlighting the traditions of Guyanese, from African head-wrapping and tibisiri craft to sari-wrapping, pottery, traditional arts and craft, drama, poetry, and storytelling.
There is also an amusement park for the enjoyment of the children, cultural zone and culinary village that showcases the traditions of Guyana’s six peoples through music, dance, fashion, and cuisine.
“Events like the Guyana Festival are central to that strategy. Because tourism today is experience-driven, visitors are seeking destinations with authenticity and stories. They want immersive experiences. They want connection. And Guyana has something unique to offer the world,” she said in remarks at the formal opening of the event.
Ms Rodrigues says there were record-breaking visitor arrivals from March 2026, with Guyana welcoming almost 40,000 visitors during that month alone, a 13.3% increase over the same period last year.
In 2025, Guyana recorded its highest-ever visitor arrivals, welcoming more than 453,000 visitors, a 22% increase over the previous year.
