LINDEN Town Week was officially declared open on Sunday by Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell amid a surge in commercial activities in the mining town.

Prominent faces at the launch included Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton; Chairman of the Region 10 Tourism Committee, Devin Sears; Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall; Deputy Mayor of New Amsterdam, Buster Wright and Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton.

Sears described the occasion as a major milestone.

“There were many challenges that this town faced and we overcame them as a people. Because of the unity that Linden has, we overcame everything that they said was impossible to cross and we are standing here today,” he noted.

Linden Town Week, he said, presents great business opportunities for the town.

“All hotels have been booked out completely; that is quite a remarkable achievement. Linden Town Week creates a lot of opportunities not only for corporate entities, but also for the small man.

One of the things we have enjoyed so far is seeing the little pop-up businesses around the town and we are hoping that through organisations like [sic] the Linden Chamber of Commerce they will be given guidance so that those small businesses can become large entities. Our projections for Linden are great,” he contended.

Minister Hamilton in his address commended the mayor and people of Linden on their milestone celebration and called for it to be a time of reflections.

“It’s a pleasure being here. On behalf of the Government of Guyana and the President of Guyana, we say congratulations to the Mayor of Linden and the Council as you celebrate your 52 years as a town,” said Hamilton.

He added: “The expectations is [sic] that one that is 52 years old must be mature, must want to strive for the best, must want to ensure they develop themselves… so as you reflect over the next several days and celebrate this time, reflect on three things as a town: the past, the present and the future.”