Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton on Monday, appealed for more private sector involvement in the activities planned in observance of Guyana’s 49th Republic Anniversary which has a $100m budget.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) press release, the minister noted that the ministry has been remodelling many of the activities hosted as part of Mashramani, hence, the need for more private sector participation.
“We [government] are trying to move away from a float parade where there is one ministry after another ministry you know…we want to see a more co-operative involvement in our mash parade,” the minister was quoted as saying at a press conference which was held at the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue.
Mashramani 2019 is being held under the theme, “Celebrate Mash 49 with Victory in Mind”. Mash Coordinator, Andrew Tyndall, said that while participation and involvement by the private sector has not decreased, more is desired from them. “Our desire is not to only see a number of government agencies as Mash is for all Guyanese. The private sector benefits immensely from the festival and we would like to see them get involved in the float and costume parade, more specifically Mashramani,” he stated.
Tyndall also remarked that among the changes for this year’s Mash parade is the lengthening of the route. He announced that the parade will start on Carifesta Avenue, proceed to Kitty Roundabout, and then head along Vlissengen Road to end at the D’Urban Park. He assures that the ministry also aims to provide the same level of security and hopes for an incident-free Mashramani similar to that of 2018.
Director of Culture, Tamika Boatswain, is urging everyone to keep abreast with activities set aside for Mashramani and to become involved in the Peoples’ Choice Award as voting will soon be open to the public. The DPI disclosed that over the next six weeks, 39 activities including pop-up activities which will focus on the country’s status as a republic, will be hosted to promote the event which has a budget this year of $100 million.
