How can Linden move from a poor community that does not have the capital resources to a community of entrepreneurs? A different way of thinking, according to AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes, who says previous governments have encouraged a dependency syndrome in the town.
He was at the time speaking at an AFC consultative meeting in Linden at the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) Boardroom last Saturday.
In a presentation that was repeatedly met by applause, Hughes noted the high unemployment in Linden but he said there is no reason why businesses in the interior should not obtain supplies, good and services, including food items, mining equipment and technical advice, in Linden rather than going all the way to Georgetown.
Highlighting that the electricity protest in Linden last year proved that Linden is the most strategically placed community in the entire country, Hughes suggested that there should be no reason why Linden should not be the wealthiest location in the country. “Everybody wanted you to come off the road but none of them offered you any future. We cannot allow any part of this country to be in such an impoverished state,” he said.
Pointing to the history of the country, Hughes said it should be noted that the successful communities are the ones that are strong internally. Noting that lumber and a substantial portion of the gold that passes over land from the interior to the capital passes through Linden, he said it is enigmatic that Linden should be a poor town.
In trying to point his audience of over 40 persons to answers, Hughes noted that the world has changed, and governments are no longer obligated to provide employment. In this regard, he suggested that people have to first change the way they think in relation to gainful employment and start their own businesses and seek the relevant small business support.
“Commit tonight to start a revolution in your heads and your children’s heads,” he exhorted the audience.
He also pointed to the examples of African slaves, who were freed in 1838 but were able to make cash purchase of several sugar estates on the East Coast and the Corentyne as well as the indentured immigrants who left their homeland poor and came to Guyana looking for a better life and today many of their descendants are prosperous Guyanese citizens.
The other AFC speakers at the meeting included the party’s leader Khemraj Ramjattan and MP Cathy Hughes.
