Mayor of Linden Waneka Arrindell on Sunday said that the town seems to be excluded from President Irfaan Ali’s ‘One Guyana’ mantra since numerous requests for assistance for its annual Town Week have been ignored.
In a press release, Arrindell noted that Linden Town Week is just five days away, and thousands of residents in the mining town and visitors worldwide are preparing to partake in one of “Guyana’s celebrations of rich history and culture.”
“The One Guyana concept seemingly does not extend to Linden, as there has been no response to the many emails, phone calls, and texts messages to these Ministers and their offices. This position taken is one that we have never encountered over the 26 years that Linden Town Week has been in existence.”
The Mayor thanked the many local, national, and international businesses who have joined hands in making the fifteen events managed by the Linden Mayor and Town Council successful.
With the exception of the Ministry of Public Works, noticeably absent from the support and preparations for this massive tourism and social event, for which letters were sent since February, are the Office of the President, Prime Minister, and government agencies such as the Ministries of Culture, Youth and Sport, Business, Tourism, Local Government and Regional Development, Education, Home Affairs, Labor which provided overwhelming support to other recent regional events such as the Bartica Regatta and Lethem Rodeo.
“We pose these questions to President Ali, ‘Are we a part of the One Guyana that his administration touts? If we are, then why isn’t the same support given to other parts of Guyana not provided to Linden?’” Arrindell asked.
Despite this, the Mayor noted that Linden would showcase itself to the world as proud Guyanese despite the deafening silence from the elected officials.
