THE Linden Mayor and Town Council is on the verge of twinning the township of Linden with the City of Newark in the US state of New Jersey. The deal to foster close ties between the two municipalities was concretised last Saturday at a town hall-style meeting held in Brooklyn, New York and attended by Linden Mayor, Mr Carwyn Holland, Councillor Nikeza Noel and Chief Executive Officer of the Linden Enterprise Network, Ms. Tandika Miller.
According to Mayor Holland, his being at the meeting was at the invitation of Newark’s Mayor, Ras J. Baraka, with whom he had held previous discussions about twinning the two cities.
The meeting was held under the theme, “Creating investments for financial viability: Stimulating development, social transformation and economic prosperity for Linden”.
Holland told the Guyana Chronicle that the municipality has big plans for rebuilding Linden, and he shared them all with Ras Baraka.
“I shared Linden’s vision and growth plan through manufacturing, education, health, sports, and tourism,” he said, adding that several other persons, among them New York’s Senator Kevin Parker, have expressed an interest in helping Linden, and invited him to take advantage of educational and other opportunities available.
WELL ATTENDED
Noting that the New York meeting was well attended, and that the Diaspora was very supportive of his ideas, Holland said:
“Twinning Newark with Linden is consequential for Linden’s economic renaissance and development.
“This city-to-city partnership will foster new cultural and economic cooperation; create new prospects for business investments to sustain Linden’s economic viability; help create much-needed jobs for young people; and engender social transformation and prosperity for Lindeners. I’m excited about this historic prospect.”
Among areas in which he feels Linden can benefit tremendously from the deal are youth empowerment, enterprising, the restructuring and enhancement of public infrastructure, developing Linden’s tourism industry, agro-processing, and economic development.
Other areas include garbage collection, the exchange of students and athletes, and inter-cultural exchange.
“I believe that the twinning with Linden and Newark will add value to our efforts to further develop Linden, and play a key role in augmenting our efforts towards all inclusive development of the people and town of Linden,” Holland said.
Newark, New Jersey has a population of close to 300, 000 residents, and is one of the main air, shipping and railway hubs in the US.