Georgetown, Guyana – (March 3, 2019) Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, this evening, presented the letter of permission for Linden, Upper Demerara- Berbice (Region Ten) to operate its own television station.
The document was presented to the town’s Mayor, Ms. Waneka Arrindell and was in keeping with a commitment made by the Minister of State to the residents of the town on February 23, 2019.
The document was presented to Ms. Arrindell at the Bayrock Community Centre where the Linden Mashramani activities were taking place and the handing over of the permission letter is one of many promises made to the people of Linden and fulfilled by government.
“The people of Linden, today is very important day for you and for me. I am handing over the permission to operate a television station to the Mayor. I had promised you that in one week you will get it and today, I am honouring and keeping that promise to you. Today, I am handing over this document which will enable the station to start running and by Thursday, you will have the official title and document in your hands,” he stated.
For decades, the town had only been able to benefit from a television feed from the National Communications Network (NCN).
Ms. Arrindell thanked Minister Harmon for making good on his promise and noted that all residents would be able to access the television station.
“Linden, this now belongs to us,” she said as she held the document in the air. “I know that we are going to make sure we use it and we use it well. We are inviting those persons who have knowledge and information and knows and can assist to come onboard as we work together. We say thank you to the Government of Guyana and to Minister Harmon for working to make this possible for us,” the Mayor said.
While in Linden, Minister Harmon also met members of the Rastafarian community at the Rastafarian Tabernacle located along the Winifred Gaskin Highway. There he assured the gathering that Government will address their land issues this week.
The Rastafarian community has occupied the lands for decades but have no legal documentation to show ownership.
The visit to the community he said, stemmed from a meeting with the representatives at his office, last week.
“During that meeting, one of the issues they raised with me was the issue of land. If you have your tabernacle on land that doesn’t belong to you then you have no tabernacle. I understand that you have been here for a very long time and therefore you have a right to this land. So today I want to say to you that the land on which your tabernacle stands, we have come to the decision that the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) team, under which these lands fall will come on Tuesday and meet with representatives of the tabernacle and we are going to work to ensure that you get your titles,” Minister Harmon assured the Rastafarian group.
The Minister of State also informed that the Government through its Ministerial Plenary is actively examining the decriminalisation of marijuana in small amounts based on instructions from President David Granger.
“It is something that forms active discussions between us. The President has preliminary pronouncement on this matter and he has asked us to get all of the studies that were done on this matter and see what it can mean for Guyana. What that is going to do is free up our young people who are languishing in prison. So we have to change that paradigm and I cannot tell you it will change in a week but I can say definitively that it is something that the President has given to us to examine carefully and to ensure that we can bring ourselves in line with the Caribbean. Do not feel reclusive. You are part of Guyana and part of our people and so we must take care of you,” he said.
Additionally, the Minister of State presented several radios to the group, which he said, will make access information much easier.
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