Engineer, miner and Pan-African activist William Thomas “Tom” Dalgety has died, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) announced yesterday.
In a statement, the PNCR extended condolences to Dalgety’s family and friends and described him as a competent engineer who undertook pioneering work in the local production of alum and putty.
The party said he would also be remembered for his contribution to Pan-Africanism and efforts to raise cultural awareness among African Guyanese.
“In particular, he pioneered the popularisation of African songs and movies in Guyana. He was always recommending African Guyanese visit the motherland, Africa,” the PNCR said.
It added that Dalgety was a strong advocate for African Guyanese ownership of land and businesses and for closer relations between Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora.
“He was an inspiration and one who believed in the indomitable spirit of Africans. He will surely be missed and the vacuum his departure has created is exceedingly difficult to fill,” the party said.
Dalgety was associated with the Confederation of African Nationals and Descendants and the Guyana branch of the Pan-African Movement. He was known for routinely wearing African clothing and promoting African cultural symbols.
In 2013, Stabroek News featured the gates at his Robb Street, Georgetown residence, which incorporated the Ghanaian Gye Nyame symbol. Translated as “except for God”, the symbol is widely used in Ghana. Dalgety had invested more than $200,000 in fabricating the gates and said he hoped they would encourage others to display designs reflecting African ancestry.
He also served for years on the board of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. In 2016, he was retained as a member of the board headed by businessman Stanley Ming.
Dalgety frequently contributed to public discussions about mining and argued for greater access to land for Guyanese miners. In a retrospective published last year, Stabroek News described him as a miner and Pan-Africanist and cited his observations on the colonial origins of Guyana’s mining districts.
He was also a regular contributor to the letters pages of the newspaper, writing on African history, mining, politics, culture and national identity.
His published works included Placer Mining and the Guyana Environment, Alternative Materials, Knowledge Management and Wealth, PNC Burnham and Beyond, Mining Policies in Guyana: Changing the Hinterland, Guidelines and Chants of the Rastafari, APNU and the Legacy of Forbes Burnham, Green Gold, Sacred Speeches of Africa and Sugar and Rum 1640–1892 in Diaspora Africa. In a letter published by Stabroek News in March 2025, Dalgety said the works had been produced from his Robb Street residence, which he described as the centre of his academic and literary activities.
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