Bustamante Paved the Way for the Modern Political System…PM Golding

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, yesterday told the people of Hanover that National Hero Sir Alexander Bustamante was not the first person to fight for the downtrodden people of Jamaica but none, including Marcus Garvey, was as successful or as effective as Mr. Bustamante.
He is of the view that it was Sir Alexander Bustamante who paved the way for the modern labour movement, the modern political system (along with Norman Manley) and that Bustamante set the stage for political Independence. Mr. Golding said none of the political leaders of the time was able to pierce the armour of the colonial establishment or to electrify the people of Jamaica and to win their confidence in the way that Sir Alexander Bustamante was able to do.
Mr. Golding was speaking yesterday ( Feb 24) at a civic ceremony commemorating the 125th anniversary of the birth of National Hero, Sir Alexander Bustamante, at his birthplace in Blenheim, Hanover.
Mr. Golding said that Bustamante had the courage to challenge the power structure that existed and that when he challenged the system it did not retreat, it resisted. “Bustamante knew that in challenging that status quo he was taking risks and that he might have to pay a huge price but he was prepared to pay that price. He knew that what he was doing was so right and so there was no price too high to pay”, Mr. Golding told the large gathering .
“Although Jamaica had emerged from slavery over 100 years before Sir Alexander Bustamante came on the scene , we were a free people without any rights or any ‘say’. We were people but we were not citizens”, he continued.
The Prime Minister said the development of a nation is a long continuous journey- a long relay in which runners take the baton and run their leg and then pass it on to the next runner. Mr. Bustamante ran his leg and he ran a good leg and passed that baton on . What we are obliged to acknowledge is that he gave us a head start… a good start. Mr. Golding said we might have slipped behind but it is for us to make up the ground and to go on to win the race. “Ours is not just a legacy that Bustamante has left us…ours is a duty and a mission that we have to fulfill”.
Mr. Golding said in the days when the National Hero campaigned across the length and breadth of Jamaica, people were prepared to follow him ’till they die’ because his personality was so electrifying and they saw in him a leader in whom they could put so much of their trust and hope. “In August 1977 when they interred him at the Heroes’ Park, the spirit of Bustamante never died and must never be allowed to die. Long live the spirit of William Alexander Bustamante”, Mr. Golding concluded.
Other officials making presentations at the ceremony included Minister of Water and Housing and MP for the area, Dr Horace Chang , Mayor, Councillor Lloyd Hill, JLP Caretaker for Western Hanover, Donovan Hamilton, and Custos of Hanover, Dr David Stair. A full entertainment package organised by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) was presented and saw performances by Cacoon All age School, the 2008 National Children’s gospel winner, the Esher Primary School, Sandy Bay Primary and Junior High, Lucea Primary, Rusea’s High and the Hertford Cultural group. Prime Minister Golding was presented with a gift on behalf of the people of Hanover by Miss Jamaica Festival Queen for 2008, Ms Katrina Grant.