-as township Linden moves to upgrade to city status

IN a few days, the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LMTC), will launch operation “Linden Pride”, which is a campaign that will kick start transformative mechanisms seeking to upgrade Linden’s status from town to city. This year, Linden will be celebrating 50 years as a township and the vision of the LMTC is to drive development even further, in recognition of this jubilee status.

In a state-of-the-town address, Linden’s Mayor, Waneka Arrindell, encapsulated what this means for the township and its transformative future. The Council she said, has been fully tuned to the transformative and visionary Green State Development Strategy of the Government of Guyana and is more enthused by President David Granger’s Decade of Development and his vision for the evolution of strong and sustainable municipalities.
The campaign seeks to collaborate with civil society, network with stake holders and consolidate with the constituencies, to implement mechanisms and enforce stronger policies to ensure the town becomes an economic zone and the municipality gains economic stability.

“These measures, I assure you are there to protect you and to improve the services offered to you fellow Lindeners. Therefore, all hands will be called to deck, as we seek to re-imagine, restructure and reposition our township to take its rightful place in our new and emerging oil economy,” Arrindell said in her address.

First on the agenda is to formalize a request to Central Government for the declaration of Linden as Guyana’s second city, as part of the Republican Jubilee activities. “To ensure quick and dynamic movement in the status quo, we will commission the drawing up of a modern Urban Development Plan, befitting a new city, in full consultation with you the residents. The plan will of necessity, be synchronized as a companion to the already formulated RDC Plan of Action for Regional Development.”

The LMTC will spearhead a drive to sustainably transform the township into a clean, litter free and aesthetically-pleasing space. This will be followed by a rebranding of the town with its own signature Tag Line and patriotic song; a proliferation of community welcome signs; the revitalization of the Band Stand Park, the expansion of the municipal boundaries, upgrading of infrastructure, capacity enhancement and expansion of the Municipality, amongst other projects.

For these projects to materialize, it is necessary that the council becomes financially viable since it is presently cash-strapped. Arrindell is therefore calling for all hands to come on deck to ensure this status is realized. Efforts are being made to update rates and taxes since they are currently being paid under an outdated law, with payments at just around $2,000 per year per household. Approximately 60% of residents do not fulfill this obligation and millions of dollars are owed to the Council. In addition 60 per cent of Linden’s residential space is not under the Council’s remit and residents are not paying rates and taxes. LMTC is currently working along with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), to have these areas regularized, so that more monies will be raked in.

The target will not only be on the residents but the economic zones as well. Hotels and restaurants will soon be graded to reflect their levels of services, and a stringent campaign on health code violations will be introduced to protect citizens; business in Linden will now be mandated to become regularized and must have their compliances if they are to function in the township; unauthorized extensions will be re-evaluated, to reflect the true tax; a feasibility study for the toll booth relocation to Bamia will be done and its findings addressed accordingly and toll booth and building by-laws will be revised.

The LMTC will go further to establish a municipal court to support the constabulary, with enforcement and penalties for violation of the municipal by-laws. “We are calling out to each of you, to your inner core, to embrace the vision with us, partner with us, and work with us to change Linden together, forever,” Arrindell said.

When more monies are raked it, the municipality will kick start projects to ensure Linden becomes an economic zone. In the pipeline,
is the development of a municipal airport; establishing an industrial zone on the Linden to Lethem corridor; opening up of new frontier lands for investment; the decentralization of services such as a gold board and the
re-routing of the Lethem and Mahdia busses; construction of a state-of-the-art Mckenzie Market and transforming the Wismar Market into a wholesale depot.

“Fellow Lindeners, in this audacious and transformative raising envisioned for our town, we have placed our pride, revolutionary and innovative nature as a bauxite people, front and center,” Arrindell said.

In a few days, LMTC will be inviting all of Civil Society including the religious, sporting and corporate community, non-governmental organizations and regional stake holders, to consult on the plans for the town’s status upgrade, which will be followed by a written contractual partnership with the council.
Linden will officially be celebrating its jubilee year in April under the theme, ‘Fifty for Fifty.’