Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 31, 2014 News
Last Wednesday saw the inauguration of the board of Directors of the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) at the Macaw Conference Room of the Region 10 Business Centre.
Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh and Minister within that Ministry, Juan Edghill, were among those in attendance.
The LEN is the successor of the Linden Economic Advancement Programme (LEAP) which was launched in 2002. That was reinforced by the Linden Economic Advancement Fund (LEAF) which was designed to finance projects geared towards economic development.
Edghill introduced the members of the board and gave brief details of their “impressive portfolios”.
Leading the team will be Chairman, Dunstan Barrow, with the board members being Patrick Dublin, Basil Jaipaul, Tarachand Balgobin, Youlanda Hilliman, Nolan Walton and Andrew Forsythe.
The new Chairman was not present to address the gathering but Mr. Forsythe filled that role.
The keynote address was delivered by the Finance Minister, who began by reflecting on the history of Linden.
Referring to the region as a pool of talented human resources, Dr. Singh said that the town owes its existence to the bauxite industry. He reflected that for many years Linden had made an outstanding contribution to the country as a whole.
However, he stressed that any economy that is dependent on a single sector, be it country or town, is almost by definition a “vulnerable economy.”
He elaborated on his point as he said that while bauxite has served the country well, to craft a long-term plan for economic viability only depending on that sector (bauxite) is tantamount to inheriting a position that places Linden in the cleavage of susceptibility.
Dr Singh emphasised that government will not abandon bauxite.
“Government is always committed towards ensuring that there is investment in the Region. There is the Chinese investor – BOSAI and the Russian investor—RUSAL who are investing in Guyana. We are working to promote bauxite and other mines development outside the traditional areas. The Canadian-owned company, referred to as First Bauxite Corporation, is now in the advanced stages of exploration in the Berbice area and once completed we will encourage the extraction and production of the mineral.”
In addition to this, while informing that the functions of the LEAF will now fall under the responsibilities of the LEN, he urged that those who wish to benefit from the programme be, “good borrowers.”
He informed members of the audience that to date there stands an outstanding debt of $732M. “This money was lent to entrepreneurs with the hopes that they would pay back their loans.”
DISAPPOINTED RESIDENTS AND COUNCILORS
Residents and representatives of the regional board did not hesitate to express their disappointment during the inaugural ceremony and more so after the occasion.
They expressed concern that the members of the board were handpicked without their representatives having an input.
Regional Councilor, Mr. Renis Morian, gave his take on the event.
“I am happy that a board is in, but my disappointment is rooted in the fact that the people of Linden, through their elected members, were not allowed to make a contribution to say who should be a part of the board, and it is disturbing that the Chairman for most projects in Linden is always from out of the Region. We need someone who knows the plight of the people; someone who has felt the pains of the ordinary man in this town.”
The Parliamentarian added, “I am wondering how come it is that the people have to pay back that amount, because people would have had to put up certain assets in order to get the loans, and I would like to know where those assets are. I am not impressed that the government is talking about investment in the Region. We had people that wanted to invest in the region and the government turned them down, so I don’t know what Dr. Singh really came here to say.”
Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon told this publication that while it is encouraging to know that the European-funded Linden Enterprise Network plans to begin work, “We must, however, be able to examine if this venture will achieve what it ought to achieve. The short-sightedness of the Government to re-establish this board outside of its full effects on the economic development programme, which forms part of the 21st of August Agreement, illustrates the vision that the Government is promoting for people of Region #10, which is piecemeal.”
“The composition of this Board has something that is seriously amiss and the fault lines must be addressed. It is not geared to ensure the involvement of the people whose lives this project is intended to impact on.
Government may want to say otherwise, but the consultation process used reflects its intentions.
“The Board should be a representative of the people who would have been appointed by their respective groups…for instance, a representative from the RDC appointed by the councilors. What is happening here is another violation of the rights of the people of Linden to economic self-determination. It is wrong to foist a Board on the community who, by its very composition, does not feel duty bound to answer to the community for the management of this Fund because they were not appointed by the people.”
He spoke too of the first set of monies assigned to this project.
“The initial project was a club to disburse money to friends and persons outside the region. We take serious objection to this continued look by the government to the people as second–class citizens, which is likely to have similar problems as in the past.”
Solomon also opined that LEN is clearly a continuation of the initial programme to economically marginalize the people.
“It is gross disrespect and it is hoped that the European Union, who are funding this project, take note of the system being put in place to violate Lindeners’ right to economic self-determination, a right enshrined and continuously reinforced in the Guyana Constitution.”
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