– says it was fraught with mischief

MAYOR of Linden Carwyn Holland on Tuesday made an official statement to the media, condemning last Wednesday’s (October 4) visit of former President and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to the mining town with a delegation of PPP executives, including Opposition Member of Parliament Nigel Dharamlall and former Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn. Jagdeo was initially greeted by regional PPP representatives after which he and his delegation did a walk-about the Mackenzie Market arena where he was greeted by vendors, taxi drivers, barbers and regular shoppers.

Holland said that the visit was not only fraught with mischief, but was well calculated, since it was done on the eve of the United Nations Working Group of Experts of People of African Descent visit to Linden. Jagdeo’s visit, he said, was a veiled attempt to either incite conflict or dissension or to appear as the benevolent leader he failed to portray during his tenure as President. “Regardless of the motive, I wish to affirm, that the people of Linden cannot be duped by what can only be perceived as a farce, since the previous administration engaged in a concerted effort to marginalise the people of this town,” Holland posited.
Despite the fact that some residents took the opportunity to speak out about the economic situation in Linden, Holland said that Linden was optimistic that under the coalition government, there has been a gradual progression towards the greater socio-economic prosterity for the town and country at large. Despite the coalition’s efforts, Holland said that there was much to overcome due to years of depravity under the past administration.
“Given the new development trajectory that Linden is on, Linden cannot afford distractions that seek to rile emotions or create tension. Linden is pressed to advance and fortify its infrastructure which was left to decay under Jagdeo and the PPP administration.” He alluded to the school system which suffered a direct political assault, the health care system which was left to deteriorate, deplorable roads such as the one linking Linden to Kwakwani, the high unemployment rate that the town suffered for many years, the youths who were forgotten and the bauxite company that was abandoned. “Mr. Jagdeo has no intention; as evident during his time of President, to add value to our efforts, therefore, we can do without his side show.”

To those who greeted the former president, Holland described them as a ‘handful of sympathisers’, and to have certain questionable characters purportedly in his entourage, he said, brought back memories of the phantom days. He said that Jagdeo was however free to visit in an effort to confess his sins to this religious community and urged citizens to hold him accountable for the things that he had deliberately done in marginalising the town of Linden and the wider society.

Jagdeo’s visit was the first to Linden since the PPP demitted office in 2015. After doing a walk- about, the team went to the community of Coomacka and Old England where they met with residents. Before heading back to Georgetown, he hosted an outreach at the party’s office where he was welcomed by PPP supporters and some residents.