A US-based NGO has its sights set on the economic recovery and development of Linden which would see the community take its fair share of the much-hoped for bonanza arising out of Guyana’s burgeoning oil and gas industry.
A release yesterday from the Linden Fund USA (LFU) announced the launch of a new economic development programme through its Linden Fund Guyana Office to support economic recovery in Linden. The plan is for the programme to serve as a “catalyst for development in the community” in view of what the Fund says is the IMF’s projection of “an 8.1% growth in Guyana’s economy over 2021.” LFU is confident that it can provide leadership to ensure that the community of Linden is a beneficiary of such growth.
Established in 2009, LFU has been involved in assisting the development of Linden including the mobilisation of over $129.2 million in financing and materials for projects focused on health, community development and education. It says that this involvement is expected to expand as the organisation sets its sights on partnership and engagement with the many international oil and gas companies now resident in Guyana, as well as the Linden Town Council, Regional Chairman, Linden Technical Institute, and all other stakeholders from the various sectors across the country.
The Fund pointed to the announcement of major infrastructural development works in the region led by the government with support from the Caribbean Development Bank. These include the upgrade of the Linden-to- Mabura Road, estimated at approximately US$190 million. According to LFU, the upgrade “will serve as a catalyst of growth in the community, promoting the increase in the movement of goods and services between the two locations.” And further, it plans to ensure that development in Linden “provides an environment for local growth in tandem with national growth, especially as Guyana transforms into a major oil producing and exporting nation.”
LFU says that its efforts to develop Linden will be done through its Linden office and will focus on community engagement, small business growth and workforce development. It will also make a “concerted effort” to leverage diaspora relations and local partnerships to support the development and direct investment into businesses and projects in the community.
This programme will be headed by the Fund’s Economic Development Programme Manager, Onika Stellingburg. Stellingburg has previously served as an advisor at Guyana’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and is a climate change negotiator. She is also skilled in stakeholder engagement, international policy development, and multilateral diplomacy as well having worked with the Guyana government mainstreaming sustainable development into multi-year national budgets, ensuring projects and initiatives developed were aligned with national and international plans.
LFU has indicated that the first item on its agenda is to conduct a business diagnosis survey and quarterly economic development forums to connect businesses with investors and other interested partners. These activities, it asserts, will assist the LFU “to identify needs, challenges and areas for growth across Linden.” This data, it explains, will then be used to drive project development, partnership pursuits and the investment of resources in the community, the release added.
