Linden council receives increased 2019 subvention
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, April 17, 2019
The Linden Mayor and Town Council (LMTC) has received a $2M increase from central government, bringing the total sum for 2019 to $18M.
This will be used to fund several developmental projects in the town and well as at the council. The $2M increase will be used to purchase a minibus for the environmental department, so that staff can better observe and inspect environmental issues in the township.
Each of the eight constituencies will benefit in the areas of road repairs, desilting of culverts and drains. Knowing that its financing is limited, LMTC has collaborated with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to assist with the provision of aggregates to patch as many roads that may not be on the 2019 list for major rehabilitation.
One of the big projects is the cemetery improvement project which aims at completely transforming and improving the aesthetics of the Christianburg Cemetery. This includes paving of walkways, repairing of tombs, de-bushing, clearing of drains and removal of bees. “What we have seen is the real improvement in the aesthetics of that ground and we are grateful for that,” Linden Mayor Waneka Arrindell said.
The rehabilitation of the Wismar Municipal Market will also be done and is expected to boost sales for the vendors operating there. The first project will be to fence the premises followed by other internal works.
Arrindell noted $3M has been allocated for the maintenance of the council building, purchases of office equipment and supplies. A critical piece of equipment that the council will invest in is a point of sale machine valued at $245,000. This machine will be used to better manage the operations of the Kara Kara toll booth.
Arrindell is optimistic that this year will be a very productive year and while the council remains in debt, the increase comes in handy, to deal with issues that are affecting the constituents. “We are grateful for this increase; it is not where it supposed to be, but we know we will eventually get there.”
Story and images: Vanessa Braithwaite.