Dear Editor,
I was most dismayed to observe on my way into Linden on Wednesday, July 29, that all of the signs on the verge of the roadway that usually greet persons entering this township were being cut down and loaded onto a truck.
That these signs, both advertising and informative, were removed most unceremoniously is cause for concern, since I would imagine that the Ministry of Works or whichever agency or institution had ordered their removal would have had the courtesy of at least informing the local government officials in this part of our country of whatever breach was being occasioned by their presence. Let me state here for clarity that one of Region 10’s boundaries begins at the Moblissa Creek, and the township of Linden’s boundaries begin at Bamia, both areas encompassing the location of these signs.
Several of these signs contained information on social services and community services available in Linden, and informed visitors and Lindeners alike how these services could be accessed, including information on the Regional AIDS committee’s efforts, the Linden Care Foundation, Leo and Lions Clubs and the Rotaract Club of Linden.
Several of these signs promoted national policy messages important to the development of Region 10 and Guyana, including the exhortations of the Ministry of Agriculture to Grow More Food, and the National AIDS Secretariat to ensure that residents protect themselves against this dreaded disease. I am sure that the Minister of Agriculture and his colleagues would be dismayed that these signs, which must have cost Guyanese taxpayers significant sums, had been removed.
These signs had represented a significant source of income for the Mayor & Town Council of Linden, and it is interesting to note that in this township which has been declared by central government to be an economically depressed area, and where the municipality was fighting to realize innovative means of income generation to ensure the provision of social services to the residents, that this source of revenue had been wiped out without consultation or prior notice.
Indeed, one is left to wonder if the impoverishment of the Linden municipality is the aim of the exercise, since many of these same signs remain at the start of the Linden Soesdyke Highway after the ones in Linden have been removed, and remain at the entrance to other communities around Guyana including Parika, New Amsterdam and others.
I am therefore calling for an explanation of the rationale behind the removal and replacement of these signs, even the ones of an advertising nature, since some of these advertising signs included important messages for travellers, including encouragement to buckle up and use the road safely, as they head out onto the Linden-Soesdyke Highway or into the township of Linden.
Yours faithfully,
Mortimer Mingo
Regional Chairman
Region 10
