“One Guyana” is no less a national slogan than “Green Guyana”

Mar 21, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

---

Kaieteur News- The notion that “One Guyana” is a partisan slogan is pure poppycock.  It is a desperate fiction peddled by those clinging to relevance; it is as absurd as claiming that the national flag is a party symbol simply because a government waves it. The accusation of “One Guyana” being partisan is not just dishonest—it is rank bull poop,

“One Guyana” did not materialize from the ether as a campaign gimmick. It emanated from a sitting government, and woven into national policy with the explicit goal of fostering unity. If this initiative is partisan, then so too was “Green Guyana”— used by the former APNU+AFC government. Yet, no one in their right mind argued that the greening of Guyana was a plot to advance the political fortunes of one party.

All you need to do is to Google ‘One Guyana, to recall that at his inauguration ceremony, President Irfaan Ali began not with “One Guyana” but with the national motto itself: “One People, One Nation, One Destiny.” These words, enshrined in Guyana’s very identity, are not at risk of being replaced. For all his faults—and there are many—Ali has never suggested supplanting them. In fact, “One Guyana” is a policy that seeks to breathe life into that very creed.

Also, the idea that “One Guyana” is some sinister takeover of national identity is laughable.  Some of the same characters railing against its use on the new $2000 banknote and Guyana’s passports had no issue when the previous administration painted everything in sight green. Some of them had no qualms when “Green State ” was slapped onto policy documents, vehicles, and infrastructure. But now, suddenly, a national slogan promoting unity is a partisan gimmick? Poppycock.

The faux outrage over the presence of “One Guyana” on national symbols exposes the sheer hollowness of the argument. What exactly is offensive? That the country’s passport, a document meant to represent all Guyanese, includes a call to unity? That the currency, which circulates across all divides, carries a reminder that we are one nation? Or are these objections grounded in fear- the fear of national unity? One is tempted to surmise that the critics fears are not that “One Guyana” is a meaningless slogan—it is that it might actually work.

President, Irfaan Ali made it abundantly clear that One Guyana is not a partisan slogan but a national policy. He first articulated it in no less a place than the country’s highest legislative chamber, the National Assembly and not on a political platform.

With a clarion call to unity, President Ali in his inaugural address to the National Assembly urged, “Stop being defined by race. Stop being defined by politics. Start being defined by our one nationality, and by our common love for our one country.”

This was no idle rhetoric—it was a directive to dismantle the walls of division and build a nation where unity is not just aspirational but actionable. He reinforced this commitment by insisting, “We must move nation building from abstraction to action. And lose, not one more moment in doing it. Let us stand up for our one nation, our One Guyana.”

These words, delivered with the full authority of the Presidency, in the hallowed halls of the National Assembly, affirm beyond doubt that One Guyana is a national initiative, not a partisan ploy. And lest there be any confusion, he left no room for misinterpretation: “Let us stand up for our one identity – the Guyanese identity!” That is the essence of One Guyana—not a party banner, but a reaffirmation of a shared national identity.

President Ali has made his share of missteps. His government is far from flawless. So far, he has failed to honour his commitment to establish a One Guyana Commission – a national commission, headed by the Prime Minister.  But to attack a national initiative on the grounds that it is partisan, without acknowledging its roots in the very motto the country has held dear for decades, is intellectual dishonesty of the highest order.

If the politically desperate truly want something to crusade against, they need only look around. There are a hundred real battles to fight—corruption, economic disparity, education reform, crime. But no, they fixate on the fact that “One Guyana” is emblazoned on passports and currency, as if that is the existential threat to the nation.

The truth is, the inclusion of “One Guyana” on these national emblems is exactly where it belongs. It is a reminder, as we cross borders and conduct commerce, that we are not merely factions vying for supremacy, but one people with a shared destiny.

(“One Guyana” is no less a national slogan than “Green Guyana”)

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

---

---