Dear Editor,
A New and United Guyana (ANUG) salutes you, the ancestral lineage, the men and women whose sweat, sacrifice, and unyielding hope built this nation- on this historic day—60 years ago when the chains of colonial rule and bondage from our bodies and spirits were ripped asunder.
Editor, we celebrate our Diamond Jubilee not merely with fanfare, but with solemn reflection. For six decades, we have walked a road of both triumph and tragedy. We have tasted the sweetness of self-rule, yet known the bitterness of division, mismanagement, and lost potential.
Lessons learned
ANUG espouses that political independence without economic independence is a half-freedom. We learned that when race becomes a weapon instead of a bridge, poverty thrives and justice retreats. ANUG learned that corruption, whether in colonial guise or local garb, is the enemy of the people’s trust. We learned that the cries of our Indigenous brothers and sisters, the struggles of our rural and riverine communities, and the aspirations of our youth were too often silenced by the roar of partisan power.
Mistakes made
ANUG deliberates that as a nation: we allowed fear to outweigh fellowship. We permitted leaders to divide us along colour and creed for electoral gain. We neglected education, healthcare, and infrastructure in the interior. We celebrated extraction without conservation. We tolerated impunity and called it stability. And in our oil rush, we have sometimes repeated old errors—secrecy, lack of local content, and environmental recklessness—instead of charting a new course.
Corrections underway
But ANUG believes in resurrection. We have begun, though slowly, to build oversight institutions. We are demanding transparent oil contracts, a sovereign wealth fund that serves generations not yet born, and local content laws that turn black gold into green opportunity—schools, hospitals, roads, and clean water for every Guyanese. We are pushing for constitutional reform to ensure no single region or race can hold the nation hostage. We are championing a united front against domestic violence, land grabbing, and environmental racism.
Expectations as an oil-producing nation
As we move forward, Guyana must answer a profound question: Will oil make us servants again—this time to foreign corporations—or masters of our own destiny?
ANUG expects:
Above all, ANUG expect unity without uniformity—a Guyanese patriotism that says: your ancestor came on a ship, a plantation, a plane, or walked this forest ten thousand years ago—you belong, you matter, and your voice is the engine of change.
Fellow Guyanese, independence was not a gift; it was a conquest. True freedom remains unfinished. ANUG invites you not to a dream, but to a discipline: the discipline of demanding accountability, rejecting division, and building a nation where a child from Lethem, Leonora, Linden or Lesbeholden can aspire without limit.
Happy 60th Independence. Let the next 60 years be our finest.
One Guyana. One Future. No looking back!
ANUG is yours in service and struggle,