WPA Hosting Symposium on THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR GUYANA on Thursday June 25

June 13, 2015 marked the 35th anniversary of the assassination of renowned Guyanese Scholar and political activist, Dr. Walter Rodney. To mark the occasion, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), the party to which Rodney belonged, will be hosting a Symposium on THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR GUYANA on Thursday June 25 at 4:30 PM at the National Library. The panel comprises Professor Clive Thomas, Dr. Maurice Odle, Mr. Rishi Thakur and Mr. Turhane Doerga. The Moderator is Walter Rodney Youth Movement Ms. Tabitha Sarabo.

The WPA feels that given the recent change of government after 23 years and in light of the challenges the new government faces at the political and economic levels, it is important that the country engages in an ongoing public discourse on the way forward. This “Grounding” with the people was an important part of Walter Rodney’s intellectual and political praxis and continues to be part of the WPA’s practice For the WPA, a new beginning must be guided by a new approach aimed at democratizing the relationship between the governors and the governed.

Mr. Doerga is a retired CEO of the Alesie Rice Group which played a role in the expansion of rice sale into the EU market in the nineties. He has been travelling to Caribbean countries looking for market for the huge increase in production.

Mr. Thakur is a long-serving faculty member at the UG Tain Campus with a strong interest in agriculture. He has worked with the communities in fishing and rice and takes an interest on the economic and social impact of GuySuCo.

Dr. Maurice Odle, like Clive Thomas and Walter Rodney, earned his PHD at the London School of Economics. He began his career in academia, becoming Economics Professor at the University of Guyana and preceded Dr. Clive Thomas as Director of the Institute of Development Studies. He was also a fellow at the University of the West Indies and taught at a number of other universities. Dr. Odle also worked with the UN in Geneva and recently retired from the CARICOM Secretariat as Economic Adviser to the Secretary General. Dr. Odle’s contribution will focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals post 2015 and their relevance to Guyana.

Professor Thomas, a retired Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Guyana, is a prolific writer, columnist and commentator and is considered an authority on sugar and monetary economics. Clive will speak on some of the challenges and threats facing Guyana and offer his recommendations of meeting them.

The programme begins at 4:30 PM and makes provision for audience participation.