–Granger urges at bauxite Centennial Arch unveiling

By Venessa Braithwaite

UNVEILING of the Bauxite Centennial Arch erected in the mining town of Linden brought scores of Lindeners and dignitaries to the ceremony, held at Casuarina Drive, Mackenzie, Linden, the future site for the Centennial Industrial Museum and Recreational Park.

President David Granger, who addressed the unveiling ceremony, told a well-attended gathering that the arch represents a beacon of hope for the survival of the bauxite industry and for the sustainability of Linden’s economy.

“I see this arch as an ark of hope; a gateway to the future; an entrance to a new park, rather than an exit of an old enterprise. This arch is a promise to the future generations,” the President said.

Celebration of the happy and historic occasion testifies to the labour of generations who worked in the bauxite industry for 100 years. Those persons were lured to the industry as they sought decent employment, and saw a level of migration that has positively impacted Linden and Guyana culturally and socially.

“The contribution of this industry to Guyanese society is impossible to calculate… Persons came from all over the coastland; from the islands of the Caribbean: Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, in search of regular employment and high wages offered by the bauxite industry,” President Granger said. He added that not only has the industry had a social impact, but it was responsible for training highly skilled engineers and industrial workers.

He urged Lindeners and bauxite miners to examine the benefits of manufacturing aluminum, as opposed to raw bauxite, since adding value to the mineral would be beneficial.

“The aluminum plant: past and future, added value to our bauxite. It lasted 20 years, and I hope that we won’t have to wait 20 years before it returns,” he said.

For this to be possible, President Granger affirmed, all have an integral role to play in the survival of the industry.

“We still have enough reserves to allow production for the next 100 years… the development of the industry requires significant investment, and that is why we welcome our partners from the People’s Republic of China; people who are prepared to invest. We welcome them as collaborators to help to develop this important industry. Therefore, it is necessary that the region, the Upper Demerara-Berbice Region, must remain attractive to foreign investors,” he declared.

INNOVATE AND DIVERSIFY
President Granger also noted that the region needs innovation to survive, to effectively process and market the bauxite with the use of cheap energy.

But he also stressed that Linden must not get comfortable with surviving on bauxite alone. “Linden must not be satisfied with being a mining town, it must be a manufacturing town… The people of Linden must begin to wean themselves off of excessive dependency on a single industry; and your Government is committed to supporting the diversification of the economy of Linden, to enable it to become more and more of a human community, and not just a mining town,” the President said.

Assistant General Manager of Bosai Group China, Ying Ma, assured President Granger and all the residents of Linden that the company has only good intentions for Guyana; and this, he said, is seen in the numerous contributions it has made to Linden and the country at large.

The arch, fully-funded by Bosai at a cost of $20M, is just a small fraction of what the company has done and will continue to do for the development of Linden and Guyana, Ma said.

He noted that the recent salary increases granted to workers, the installation of the dust collectors, numerous community donations and sponsorship; and most importantly, the provision of jobs for Lindeners as things the company has done for development of Linden and Guyana.

“Bosai has the best intention for Guyana…,” he said. “Bosai has willingly undertaken the construction of this arch, which we see here today, which we are sure will be standing in the same spot for the next 100 years. It is a very historical site, since persons from all over the world want to visit Guyana and Linden. We encourage the community to take good care of it,” Ma said.

Similar sentiments were echoed by Chinese Ambassador Zhang Limin, who commended Bosai for funding the arch, and posited that it is a national symbol that would go down in history.

UNBREAKABLE FRIENDSHIP
“Bosai’s willingness to fund the construction of the Centennial Arch can only prove that it is not only a symbol for Bosai and its endurance, but also its unbreakable relationship with Guyana and China.”

Centennial Committee Chairman Horace James described the arch as an illustration of the bauxite industry as the greatest achievement for Linden, Region 10, Guyana, and the world at large; as, he said, 40 per cent of the aluminum needed to manufacture war planes for World War II came from Linden.
He spoke of the strategic location of the arch — located at a point where three important communities in Linden meet: Mackenzie, Wismar and Watooka have close ties with bauxite, since the white expatriates who managed the company lived in Watooka, while the employees lived in Mackenzie and the company was also located there.
When persons came to Linden to seek employment at the bauxite company, they resided in Wismar, as all other communities in Linden were restricted.

The Bauxite Centennial Arch has four components, which are the foundation, main frame, crown, and centennial steel. Information plates will be placed on the faces of the foundation’s pillars. These will include former Mayors of Linden, Regional Chairmen and local Olympians. The main frame stands tall at a height of 51 feet and 95 feet across the roadway.

The three-foot-high crown has eight faces, which carry the logos of all the bauxite companies, both past and present. It has four golden cacique feathers, and four national flags flying high. A team of employees consisting of mechanics, masons, electricians and other tradesmen, over the past few weeks, worked assiduously to complete the installation of the steel structure that was constructed in Suriname. They were commended and acknowledged for their dedication and labour.

Some of the activities hosted in observance of the occasion include the launching of the centennial stamps, a bauxite centennial symposium, a school debate and quiz competition, and a centennial dinner.

An industrial museum and centennial park, depicting equipment used to mine bauxite in the 1900s, is also under construction in proximity to the arch.
Friday’s unveiling ceremony had in attendance several Government ministers, including Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman and Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin;
the Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Zhang Limin, along with several other Chinese dignitaries; Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland; Regional Chairman Renis Morian, and other regional officials were also present at the historic occasion.