Tourism Ministry says supporting Linden Town Week organizers
-in response to claim by Mayor
The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce yesterday said that it is supporting event organizers from Linden, who have planned activities to coincide with Town Week 2023, such as the Linden Building Expo and the Entrepreneurial Village & Arts Festival.
It was responding to a release from Waneka Arrindell, Mayor of Linden which was published in the April 17 edition of Stabroek News. The Mayor had said that apart from the Ministry of Works no other government agency had come forward and she queried whether the town had been excluded from the administration’s `One Guyana’ theme.
In its own press release in reply, the ministry said that it has been consistent in its support for Linden and the wider Region 10 as have other ministries of the government.
“The ministry routinely receives requests for sponsorship from across the country. These requests are assessed for merit, their alignment with the ministry’s strategic direction and in light of budgetary realities. Over the last 12 months, the ministry has received numerous requests from Linden and the wider Region 10, and we have responded favourably to many of these.
“In 2022, we supported activities in Region 10 for Tourism Awareness Month with approximately $1.1 million in funding, and in totality, $500,000 was given in the fiscal year 2022 in support of Linden Town Week activities. In fact, during that period, in recognition of the tremendous tourism potential of Region 10, the ministry launched national Tourism Awareness Month in Linden. We did so to manifest our commitment to and support for the community and exemplify our policy that all regions have valuable roles to play in our country’s development.
“This year we are supporting event organizers from Linden, who have planned activities to coincide with Town Week 2023, such as the Linden Building Expo and the Entrepreneurial Village & Arts Festival. Our support for these events includes financial assistance to the tune of $500,000”, the ministry said.
Outside of these events, the ministry said it supported the Inter-school Kayaking Competition for 2022 and 2023, the Inter-regions Kayaking Competition, and the Fish Extravaganza. Monies have also been approved for sponsorship of the Best of Linden Magazine 2023 publication.
The ministry added that it continues to work closely with stakeholders in Region 10 as part of its broader work plan, including facilitating Regional Tourism Workshops. Overall, the ministry said it has invested just shy of $5m in support of activities and initiatives in Region 10 – including Linden – over the last 12 months.
“We advise Mayor Arrindell that `One Guyana’ is no mere cliché but a philosophy of the PPP Civic Administration, which we continuously demonstrate in our policies and programmes, which are implemented in all regions of our country for the benefit of all of our people”, the ministry added.
Noting that Town Week was just days away, Arrindell on Sunday said that letters were sent since February to 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 and Labour which provided overwhelming support to other recent regional events such as the Bartica Regatta and Lethem Rodeo but there was no response.