— Harmon tells Lindeners at flag-raising ceremony

LINDENERS were on Friday urged to break every chain of regression, disparity, misfortune and poverty and celebrate Guyana’s great achievement of becoming a republic some 49 years ago.

This admonition came from Minister of State Joseph Harmon, who was the featured speaker at the Linden flag-raising ceremony, which was a cultural expression of patriotic colours through dance, song, poetry and music.

The Joint Services, inclusive of the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Fire Service, the Linden Mayor and Town Council Constables, the Scouts and the Children’s Militia, among others, also wowed the crowd with their precision and marching choreography skills.

In attendance were Mayor of Linden Waneka Arrindell, Member of Parliament Jermaine Figueira, Regional Chairman Renis Morian, regional administrators and regional and municipal councillors.

In his highly appreciated and upbeat feature address, Minister Harmon stressed that as Guyana celebrates 49 years as a republic, it must realise that the nation is now on the cusp of unprecedented economic, social and cultural development.

To truly benefit from this historical development, Guyana, he said, must put aside its differences and bickering.

“It is time for us to unite and cooperate; it is time for the small man to become the real man — this is the time, our future is bright, it is our time, this is our time,” Harmon stressed to loud applause.

“We are celebrating victory over our economic, social and cultural maladies, that affected us individually and collectively and the same way, we as a people, endured trials and hardship, especially Lindeners, who endured marginalisation and neglect for their voting pattern, should unify to break the chains that kept them bounded for way too long.
“It is time for the people of Guyana and the people of Linden, to now break every chain, the chain of personal misfortune, the chain of poverty, the chain of ignorance, the chain of crime and disease, we must break these chains to celebrate individual and personal victories, community victories, regional victories and national victories, this is our time,” he said.

The minister of state reassured the residents that the government will work every day to provide an enabling environment, so they can break these chains and achieve victories.
This, he said, will not be enjoyed by only the residents of Linden or in communities where the support for the coalition is known, but in all communities, across the length and breadth of Guyana.

“No longer are there red communities to be preferred and green communities to be neglected, all of our national budget from 2015 to 2019, have allocated, in due proportions, resources for the development of all the regions and all communities across Guyana,” he said.

MUCH IN STORE
The residents were given an overview of a plethora of the capital projects that are in store for their communities that will be funded by the 2019 budgetary allocation of $3.9 billion, which is the largest in history. Twenty roads are expected to be constructed in 2019. These include the Christianburg front road, Silver City and Victory Valley roads, the Wisroc access roads, the Wisburg School road and the Fraser Road Kara Kara. The upgrading of drainage systems in Red Road Crescent, the construction of a bridge across the Kara Kara Creek, the construction of the Bamia primary and nursery schools and the construction of a spanking new synthetic track at Bayroc, are also some of the capital projects in store for Linden for 2019. In the area of job creation, the installations of ICT hubs at Block 22, Wismar, is also a 2019 project which will see the employment of over 120 youths as well the refurbishment of the Kara Kara call centre, which will also enable hundreds of Linden youths to benefit from employment.

“Comrades, this is only the beginning of what is in store for Linden,” Harmon noted, while also relating that the licence for the Linden Television Station has been prepared and signed and its issuance should be done within two weeks.

Harmon said he is very confident that Lindeners will break the chain of regression as they are strong men and women who must be respected. For too long, Linden’s development has been crippled and so the residents of Linden gave him the assurance that they will not be going back into the dark era of neglect.

Member of Parliament Jermaine Figueira also hailed the momentous occasion. Every Guyanese, he said, must be responsible for chartering Guyana’s course as a free and independent nation. He also noted that Republic Day celebration was birthed in Linden. He urged Lindeners to work with President David Granger who wants a goof life for all Guyanese.

“Your government has been given the opportunity by you, the Guyanese people, to start anew, to bring a change that is reflective of the intent to benefit all our people and provide a realised promise of a good life. Residents of Region 10, I put it to you, that achieving a better future and destiny requires a deliberate qualitative change in all aspects of our lives, especially the structure of our economy, the nature of our infrastructure, the education of our youth and acquisition of skills and change in our attitude,” he stressed.

STAND TOGETHER
Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell, also called for Lindeners to stand together and shun greed and deception as the town is poised for greatness.

“We can stand together and break all ties from Britain… we stuck together then and the onus is on us to stand together now. This is the time we must forget our difference, we are one people, one nation and we have one destiny. As a people, we are better together and together, Lindeners were urged to build back their communities, town, region and country.

Linden was once the breadbasket of the country and this must become a reality again, but only through cooperation. We cannot allow greed to separate us, we have got to live in unity, we have lived in unity, when we had little and now that the bowels of the sea have blessed us with oil, it is our opportunity to stay united, for the betterment of our country,” she said.

Regional Chairman Renis Morian spoke extensively on youth empowerment in Region 10 and noted the many projects in store for 2019, which will see employment for youths. One of these is the Work Readiness Programme, made available through the Regional Democratic Council (RDC). Linden youths will also benefit from employment of many of the capital projects mentioned earlier.

At the break of dawn, the Golden Arrow Head was hoisted and the occasion was witnessed by hundreds of people on Republic Avenue, Linden. Mashramani was celebrated under the theme, “Celebrate Forty-nine, with victory in mind.” A 1000- strong procession boarded buses on Saturday morning to represent Linden at the Mashramani celebrations in Georgetown.