On Friday last the Linden Fund trust hosted another round of its Linden Media Forum, where Interim Management Committee Chairman Orrin Gordon, presented the topic, “The State of the Linden Community”.Orrin GordonGordon during his presentation posited that Linden was once a beacon in Guyana, but unfortunately that is no longer so.He noted that the topic was a very provocative one, that brings out ‘raw emotions of nostalgia,” and sometimes disdain.Gordon highlighted several issues which he said were troubling, including widespread unemployment and underemployment.He posited that Linden is a community where 89 percent of works contracts go to contractors outside of Linden,
Jerseys NFL Wholesale China, many of whom bring in their own workers, and materials, and are guilty of substandard and shoddy work.Underscoring his point he alluded to the $200M contract for the laying of pipelines in Block 22, Wismar, where the contractor ‘made a mess’ of it, but yet was awarded other contracts in places such as Amelia’s Ward.Linden contractors were only awarded the smaller contracts, he added.Gordon said that the community is presently between a rock and a hard place because on the one hand contractors outside of the community are getting the cream of the contracts, despite the fact that many of the projects are substandard; while the contractors in Linden who receive the smaller contracts sporadically, are also guilty of some amount of substandard? work because more often than not, they try to maximize on the profits on the projects , because they are awarded contracts so few and far in between.Colossal evilHe emphasized that many of the social ills the community suffers, spiral out of prevalent and grinding poverty- which he called ‘a colossal evil’,
Wholesale NFL Jerseys, and added that less than 40 percent of the population lived in the ‘comfort Zone”.The IMC Chairman said that “we need ‘new money’ coming into the community.”According to Gordon a lot of money passes through the town- about US $10M on a weekly basis,
China NFL Jerseys, and that is just from logging and gold mining.He noted that the Gross Domestic Product of the Town is around US$900, which is less than 50 percent of the national average.Gordon in highlighting the sad state of the local economy, pointed out that the community is often maligned to donor agencies, hence the dearth of opportunities available.He posited that instead of Linden being a transshipment point, it should be a destination, where commuters from interior locations could come and conduct business, and where a shuttle system could be effected that would benefit the bus operators from places such as Mahdia and Lethem, as well as those from Linden.“After four years, a Board cannot be established for LEAP’s successor LEN. This is a travesty. President Ramotar had promised to install a Board over a year ago, but to date nothing has been done.”Gordon highlighted several other issues, including garbage collection and disposal, flooding and erosion and issues relating to the environment generally.He asserted that in the past, the sanitation of the town was ‘revered’- one of the best- as there was order and regularity in collection and disposal of refuse, and vector control was also done frequently.The present plight of the cash-strapped municipality was also emphasized, with Gordon pointing out that only sixty percent of property owners are paying rates and taxes.He added that of the 40 percent, many, like those residents in Amelia’s Ward and Block 22, are not even on the tax roll. Gordon said that because of the limited revenues garnered, there was only so much that the Council could do, considering that rates and taxes account for only $20M of its revenue, when employees’ wages double that amount.In reference to the media forum,
Cheap NFL Jerseys, Gordon posited that it was long overdue; as “such conversations are important in every aspect of our lives.” He however expressed the hope that the sessions would not just be ‘talk shops’ but forums where problems could be highlighted and suggestions made for the implementation of solutions.After the almost hour long presentation, members of the media were afforded the opportunity to ask questions.Most of the questions centered on environmental issues,
Cheap NBA Jerseys China, and lands allocation.The Linden media forum is a component of the broader based Linden Community Forum,
Cheap Football Jerseys, which is expected to promote and facilitate dialogue and community participation for the development of Linden. (Enid Joaquin)