THE enhancement and beautification of both the eastern and western shores of the Upper Demerara River in the mining town of Linden is a project that is expected to commence soon.

The project is being pushed by Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ms Simona Broomes, who has been assigned to Linden by the government.
She along with Mayor of Linden, Ms Waneka Arindell, Member of Parliament, Mr Jermaine Figueira and PNCR Region 10 Chairman, Mr Deron Adams met with engineers on Wednesday to commence discussions on the design that the waterfront development will take, and the plethora of touristic and economic benefits that will derive from its establishment.

The idea of developing the waterfront, Minister Broomes said, came about after listening to President Granger’s recent address to the residents of Victory Valley at the commissioning of the community’s play park.
She said that when the president puts forward ideas, local leaders should push to make them happen.

As the president said at the commissioning, the development of Linden’s waterfront and that of all the other towns can create a wealth of opportunities, since doing so is not only good for business but helps give the area a certain character.

“I would like to see all of these waterfronts develop, so that young people could go strolling at night safely, with solar lights, good food, music,” President Granger said, adding:
“And I would like to see this western shore like a boulevard; every town in Guyana must have a boulevard, full of beautiful trees so that young people can enjoy the environment.”
Noting that developing the Linden waterfront is good for tourism, the president went on to say:

“Visitors will always remember the black water of the Demerara River.”
According to Minister Broomes, by developing the Linden waterfront, not only will the municipality be able to rake in revenue from booth holders, but the main beneficiaries will be the citizens at the grassroot level seeking empowerment.

WHOLE NEW VISTA
“It is a whole vision in terms of opportunities; it is a lot. It must be a clear vision, not just building some place and putting some people in it; it’s about bigger growth and development for Linden… It’s creating opportunity for businesses in Linden,” the minister said.

Warming to the topic, Minister Broomes said that persons will be able to sell their locally-made art and craft; small-scale cooks can be able to establish their businesses; smoothie, icecream and confectionary vendors can set up shop; and young fashion designers can have an outdoor showroom.

On the Wismar shore, where the business atmosphere is somewhat bleak, Minister Broomes said that developing the river front on that side of the river can revitalise the Wismar business community, including the Wismar Municipal Market.
“I see it as really opening up a lot of opportunities,” she said. “There is a market there; for business in the market, it will bring back that life because the traffic in the area will develop.

“So people in the market will reopen their stalls, and so the market will get back the life that it once had.
“There is also talk of setting up a bus terminal adjacent to the Wismar Market that Mahdia and Lethem buses can utilise, as well as an organised taxi shed, which will also add tremendously to people traffic.”

Such development, the minister stressed, is giving power to the local people, and therefore consultation will be held with the residents of Linden in relation to their choice of design, name and other logistics.

The Linden Mayor & Town Council (LMTC) had, in the past, developed the Mackenzie river front by installing some benches, a concrete walkway and rails there.
This attracted a few outdoor culinary businesses and various promotions have been held there, the biggest of which is the annual River-Front Festival.

Owing to the lack of maintenance, however, the aesthetics of the river front has since deteriorated.