THE recent Cabinet outreach in Region 10 where President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali made the announcement of two dedicated business districts for Linden, one on the Mackenzie shore and another on Wismar are timely and deserving of strong support. More importantly, this reflects an increasingly defining feature of President Ali’s leadership: an ambitious, practical and results-oriented approach that seeks to convert Guyana’s expanding resources into tangible opportunities for citizens.
Linden is growing rapidly in population, housing and commerce. More Lindeners, particularly women and young people, are embracing entrepreneurship. Inevitably, some businesses have emerged on reserves and in areas not legally designated for commercial activities, hence squatting areas.
I firmly believe that the sustainable response cannot simply be enforcement and removal. Effective leadership identifies the problem, understands its causes and provides a viable alternative. These proposed business districts by His Excellency can do precisely that, provide legitimate, organised spaces where existing entrepreneurs can formalise their operations and aspiring business owners can enter the market place.
From discussions I was privileged to have with President Ali and Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, these districts are intended to accommodate a wide range of enterprises, including groceries, fresh produce, meat and fish, clothing, pharmacies, beauty services, restaurants, automotive services and agro-processing.
It is the view that Linden should not build yesterday’s market for tomorrow’s economy. These districts should establish a new standard: modern commercial units, organised business zones, adequate parking, pedestrian areas, drainage, sanitation, lighting, security, waste management and attractive, family-friendly common spaces.
Their strategic importance becomes even greater when considered alongside the Linden-Lethem corridor and improved connectivity with northern Brazil. Increased movement of people and goods can create substantial opportunities in accommodation, logistics, transportation, agriculture, retailing, food services, automotive services and entertainment.
This initiative also forms part of a broader development footprint across Linden: expanding housing and community roads, major highway development, the new four-lane Mackenzie-Wismar bridge, investments in healthcare and education with training and building of new schools and health centres, agriculture and agro-processing, sports infrastructure, two new stadiums and soon a boxing gym and recording studio and now organised commercial districts.
Individually, critics may dismiss any one project. Collectively, however, they reveal something more significant, a deliberate development agenda for Linden.
President Ali and his administration deserve credit for that.
I make this observation having previously sat on the other side of Guyana’s political divide and having strongly and vehemently criticised the PPP/C government where I believed criticism was justified. Where shortcomings in transparency, accountability, efficiency or implementation exist, they should still be confronted, but from all indications the government is taking deliberate steps to address such.
Mr Editor, it must be noted that political consistency cannot mean refusing to acknowledge progress, significant progress I must add, simply because it is politically inconvenient. Leadership must ultimately be judged by evidence.
Some will correctly argue that Guyana’s petroleum revenues make much of this development possible. But it must be stated profoundly that possessing resources and successfully converting them into national transformation and development are fundamentally different things. History provides enough examples of resource-rich countries that failed to translate wealth into broad-based development.
The facts are, resources create capacity; but leadership determines priorities.
President Irfaan Ali should therefore be judged not simply by the resources available to his administration, but by what is being built with them: roads, bridges, schools, health facilities, housing, productive infrastructure, improved agricultural capacity, sports facilities, improved social-welfare programmes and economic opportunities.
This does not mean every problem has been solved or every project is perfect. Greater national wealth demands even stronger transparency, accountability and value for money. But demanding accountability should never require intellectual blindness to development and transformation happening to the significant achievements nationally and internationally for Guyana.
What is increasingly evident is President Ali’s leadership style characterised by ambitious development, direct engagement with communities from the grassroots upwards, openness to practical ideas and an urgency to transform Guyana’s infrastructure and economic geography.
The proposed Linden business districts fit squarely within that vision. They can formalise entrepreneurship, create employment, empower women and young people and better position Linden to benefit from the economic opportunities emerging along the Linden-Lethem-Brazil corridor.
As Lindeners, we must also prepare ourselves through training, accessing financing from the new development bank and other financial institutions, in partnerships, innovation and entrepreneurship. We cannot merely observe Guyana’s transformation from the sidelines. Thus, we should ignore the baseless and repetitive political rhetoric of negativity and nothingness.
Resources provide opportunities. Vision determines what we attempt, but leadership determines our direction, and execution determines what ultimately gets built.
On that measure, President Irfaan Ali is building an increasingly compelling record.
Linden must now position itself not merely to witness Guyana’s transformation, but to participate in it, contribute to it, own a meaningful part of it and above all, prosper from it.