THE hinterland township of Lethem will officially be declared a town during Town Week observance which is scheduled for October of this year.

Lethem Town Week is scheduled to be held from October 15-21, with the official declaration of the township status being made on the 20th. Lethem will become Guyana’s ninth town, following Bartica and Mabaruma which achieved township status last year. The other six which existed before these are: Anna Regina, Corriverton, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam and Rose Hall.

According to Mayor of Lethem, Carlton Beckles, the concept of Town Week “is like the birth of a baby”.
He added that, “What we will be doing is christening that baby. So what we will be having is the declaration where the plaque will be unveiled to officially declare Lethem as a town by His Excellency, President David Granger.”

On October 21, 2015, President David Granger identified Lethem, in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), as one of the districts which would become a town. Lethem is a hub where economic, social and cultural activities are concentrated. The area is home to thousands of Guyanese and serves as a central point for trade between Guyana and Brazil.
The Mayor shared that work will commence soon on the Lethem Town Declaration Park, where the official declaration will be made. In relation to activities for the Town Week, he noted that the goals and objectives of those are to foster unity and togetherness among the people of Region Nine.

Equally as important, he stressed, is establishing Lethem as a tourism destination, as well as, to showcase the tourism and agricultural potential of the region.
“We see Town Week as a pride of the people of Lethem … of the people of the region and so forth. We want everybody to cherish it and it is historic … there won’t be another declaration. We will continue to have Lethem Town Week observed on a yearly basis,” Mayor Beckles said.

Lethem comprises indigenous people from most of the nine nations with a heavy Portuguese presence due to neighbouring Brazil. There exist Afro and Indo Guyanese too, albeit in smaller numbers.

Meanwhile, chairperson of the Lethem Town Week Planning Committee, Raymond Hunt shared some of the events on the proposed list of activities. In addition to sports, which feature prominently on the agenda of all events hosted in Lethem, there will also be: cultural and fashion shows; a cook-off competition; fireworks and paratrooping by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF); and a Diwali motorcade among others.