– Military parade, para-trooping among activities planned

Bartica will be officially declared a town on May 7, and not on April 23 as was previously announced, Gifford Marshall, the newly elected Mayor, said on Monday.The announcement was made after a meeting with President David Granger at the Ministry of the Presidency, where the new date was finalised.

The Head of State is scheduled to attend the signing ceremony of the COP21 Agreement at the United Nations Headquarters in New York this weekend, and would not be able to attend the Bartica event.

This was communicated to Barticians, and according to Marshall, they insisted that the date be changed to facilitate the President’s schedule.

“With this adjustment, we were able to incorporate some additional activities into the programme, so it will be bigger and better on May 7; and, most importantly, it will be in our jubilee month, so that is something else for us to celebrate,” the Mayor said.

The May 7 ceremony will kick-off with a military parade, followed by a para-trooping display by members of the Guyana Defence Force, and there will be aerial tours of Bartica. The day’s events will culminate with a grand cultural show in the evening at the Bartica Community Centre.