THE Linden Legal Aid Centre, which will give residents of Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice) access to the justice system, was officially launched last Friday.

The centre is located in the Christianburg’s Magistrate’s Court building, Burnham Drive, Christianburg, Wismar, Linden.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Ms. Priya Manickchand said this centre has been in existence for a while now.

However, she said it was officially launched because the weekly presence of lawyers from other parts of the country was not sufficient to deal with the issues of the people in Linden.

According to her, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Civic, in their 2006 manifesto had promised to expand legal aid services.

As such, one was launched in June last year in Essequibo, another in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) and yet another at Fort Wellington (Region Five) recently.

With the present one now on stream , the Minister said she “enjoyed fulfilling this promise” on behalf of the Government.

However, she said she “awaits anxiously” the full support of the Guyana Bar Association which had promised this last year but has not stumped up so far.

The Minister also announced that for the final quarter of this year, the Ministry will be training people from Hinterland communities so that they can be able to offer advice and liaise sensibly with lawyers.

She said this would serve to make representation available for people of those communities as well.

According to Minister Manickchand, the centre at Linden may soon have to be renamed “Region 10 Legal Aid Centre” so that people across the Region can be served.

Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Justice of the Guyana Court of Appeal, said the establishment of this centre is testimony to the commitment of all stakeholders.

She said the centre does not just provide low income access to justice, but also contributes to the community’s well-being.

With the centre now in place, Cummings-Edwards said people will be able to seek legal representation, free of cost. Though lawyers are described in a negative way, she said appreciation will no doubt be developed for them as people see the work they put in.

She added that people are deprived of access to the justice system when no such centre is available.

According to her, Legal Aid is available to thousands of persons by means of lawyers who give their time and resources to members of the public.

Speaking about how the centre will affect the residents of Linden for the better, Cummings-Edwards said justice will be served and people will hardly resort to taking the law into their own hands.

She said justice is a basic need, the same as food and clothing, and a right that belongs to everyone regardless of their background, race, religion, and nationality.

“Legal Aid is more than helping someone pay for representation from a lawyer. It provides for people who are denied justice. Everyone is given an opportunity to be heard and to tell his story,” she said.

Previously, she said, people of Linden had to come to Georgetown to secure a lawyer, but this centre now provides the service at their “door steps.”

Cummings-Edwards is appealing to residents of Linden to take advantage of the Legal Aid system in a positive and meaningful way. She said people should not take it for granted by burdening the system.

She said the centre should not give people a licence to commit crimes because they can have legal representation.

She also warned against persons deceiving themselves into believing that Legal Aid would take them out of trouble after Police would have charged them and placed them before the court properly.

Cummings-Edwards is also appealing to the residents not to use Legal Aid if they can afford private representation by a lawyer.

She said Psalms 82:3, which states “Be judges for the lowly one and the fatherless boy. To the afflicted one and the one of little means do justice,” is quite applicable when it comes to providing services at Legal Aid.

Director/Secretary of the Linden Legal Aid Centre, Dr. Joan Ward-Mars, said she wished to acknowledge the assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture’s drainage and irrigation team.

She also stated that nothing would be possible without the donor agencies.

She mentioned, too, that persons can contact the centre by logging on to www.justiceforlinden.org or by sending them an email at justiceforlinden@gmail.com.

Also present at the launch were Chairman of Region Ten, Mr. Mortimer Mingo; Chairperson of the Regional Women’s Affairs Committee and Regional Welfare Committee, Ms. Valerie Sharpe; President of the Guyana Bar Association Mr. Teni Housty; and Member of Parliament, Mrs. Deborah Backer.

Chief Executive Officer of the Linden Mining Enterprise Mr. Horace James chaired the proceedings.

The Board members are : Mr. Fitz Peters (Chairperson), Mr. Horace James (Vice Chairman), Dr. Joan Ward-Mars (Secretary), Mr. Charles Fung-A-Fatt (Treasurer), Deborah Osman-Backer and Dr. Pansy Armstrong..