Dear Editor,
I believe Guyana should revisit an important chapter in its development history: the self-help movement of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. At a time when the country had limited financial resources, ordinary Guyanese were encouraged to take an active role in improving their living conditions through collective effort, cooperation and community participation.
One of the most notable examples was the self-help housing programme. Government facilitated access to land, building materials and technical assistance, while families contributed labour towards constructing their homes. Communities such as South Ruimveldt, North Ruimveldt (Festival City) and Tucville became associated with the broader housing expansion of that era. Self-help also extended to agriculture, village improvement and community development.
What strikes me about that period is the emphasis on personal responsibility and collective action. People were not simply waiting for government to provide everything; they were actively participating in building their communities.
The current government may want to say they have such programmes currently in place, but under a different name. This without giving any credit to the past, especially the slogan “self-help”.
Today, Guyana is in a vastly different economic position. Oil revenues have given us financial resources that previous generations could scarcely have imagined. I therefore believe we should modernise and reintroduce the self-help concept, not out of economic necessity, but as a deliberate strategy for empowering citizens and strengthening communities.
For example, government could provide serviced house lots, infrastructure, affordable financing, building materials and technical supervision, while families contribute through affordable financial arrangements, skills or community participation. Such programmes could also incorporate vocational training, allowing young people to acquire practical skills in construction, electrical installation, plumbing, carpentry and other trades.
I see similar opportunities in agriculture, where community-based cooperatives could receive access to land, machinery, irrigation, financing and markets. Communities could also participate in improving recreational facilities, drainage, community centres and other local infrastructure.
However, I believe modern self-help programmes must be properly funded, transparently administered and accessible without political favouritism. Oil revenues should provide the financial foundation, while citizens become partners in implementation. The objective should be to create skills, employment, entrepreneurship and lasting community ownership.
My concern is that we may become so preoccupied with spending oil revenues on major infrastructure and government-led projects that we overlook the importance of empowering ordinary citizens to participate directly in national development.
We must also remember that oil is a finite resource. The real measure of our success should not simply be how much petroleum we produce or how much revenue we collect, but what sustainable economic and social benefits we create for future generations.
I believe the self-help philosophy of an earlier generation deserves a place in today’s national development agenda. We have the financial resources that our predecessors did not have. What we should not lose is their spirit of initiative, cooperation and community responsibility.
Oil wealth should not make Guyanese more dependent on government; it should give them greater opportunities to become self-reliant. Ultimately, we must move beyond distributing oil wealth to building the capacity of our people to create and sustain wealth.
Sincerely,
Keith Bernard
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