Granger gets rock-star reception in Linden … promises to tackle unemployment among youths
THE town of Linden has been known in recent years for its staunch resistance to political oppression, but on Friday the mining community offered rock-star treatment to President David Granger, who thanked them for their support in the recent elections and promised to return shortly to listen to and fix the many problems that have blighted their progress over the years.Granger’s APNU/AFC coalition won a landslide endorsement from Linden at the May 11 polls, and the President on Friday made his first official visit to the community since the general and regional elections. While he did not announce any goodies, the President assured the exuberant residents that, following his trip to the United Nations next week, he would return to Linden to listen to their concerns and offer solutions.
There were tears of joy, dancing in the streets, and shouts of “Granger!” “President Granger!” “We President finally come to Linden!” as the President walked among his supporters for the first time since becoming the Guyanese leader.
Excited to see their leader, residents of Mackenzie, Blue Berry Hill and One Mile Wismar walked alongside him as they caught his attention while explaining their struggles. Many of them congratulated Granger on his election as President of Guyana, and thanked him for visiting Linden.
Whilst listening to the plight of the people who poured overwhelming support behind the APNU+AFC coalition during the election season, the President explained that his visit to the town was primarily to “thank the people of Linden for their support”, which resulted in him being President.
“Thank you, I wanted to thank you… I am heading to the United Nations next week for some important work; when I return, I will come back to Linden so we can sit and talk,” President Granger promised.
He committed to returning in October to have in-depth discussions with Regional Chairman Renis Morian and the people of Linden. “I will come back for us to talk,” he assured the people as he noted that their issues are important to his government. “This is not campaign time, this is a time for building,” Granger told the gathering of young and old.
But though his visit was a short one, he did listen to the frustrations of a few Lindeners, who complained of their young and differently-able children being unable to attend school. “There is a problem here with the Regional Education Officer, and there are a lot of our children that are out on the streets and not attending school, and you getting the royal push around”, said a female Wismar resident.
The woman told President Granger that there are a number of special needs children who are unable to attend school because the Regional Education Officer (REdO) is “high”. According to the woman, parents have been told that the schools lack materials. They said some materials were provided but, to date, the situation has not changed.
“We need the Child Care/Welfare people to follow up,” another resident said.
REdO refusal
Morian confirmed the situation, and told the President that the “REdO refuses to accept the children in the schools.” Morian added that the number of children not in school is too high. “A lot of persons are facing this problem…every day they are at my office,” he complained.
Another resident said Wismar needs massive development and attention from the administration. That resident noted that “Wismar always leff on the back burner.” But the Regional Chairman assured the residents of plans to have the first recreational park commissioned there, along with a multi-purpose centre for all to benefit from.
“Our focus for our 2015 budget will be placed on Wismar…we had 23 years of suffering, and I think it is time we experience change,” he said.
President Granger urged Lindeners that the time for campaigning is over. “This is not a rally, this is not a campaign, this is fixing the problems here. We will come back and sit down and work out these problems,” he assured.
Overwhelming support
Meanwhile, President Granger told reporters that he visited the mining community because of the overwhelming support received preceding his election as President. “Linden came out solidly in favour of the coalition on the 11th May, and Linden has some problems and I have come back here to speak to the people of Linden,” said Granger.
He said when he returns in October he intends to aggressively pursue the issue of “employment for young people”. “I will sit down with the Regional Chairman, the RDC, and see how best we can solve the problems of young people. There are other things, not only jobs — sporting facilities, environment — but employment is a big issue here, a big issue. Over the next 5 years, we want to deal decisively with the employment issue. People coming out of school must be able to look forward to employment,” the president said.
Referring to the situation where special needs children are not being catered for in the education system, Granger said: “Right now, the education system does not seem to be catering satisfactorily for those with special needs. This is just a walkabout today…we’ll be back in October to sit down with the people and work out together with them and the corporate community how we are going to deal with these two issues,” the president added.
As word of the President’s visit spread, scores of residents flocked him to have pictures taken with him. School children, babies, and even the elderly were in competition for the opportunity to take a picture with “their president” and have a quick conversation as well.
President Granger did his walkabout at the Mackenzie Market, after which he visited Blueberry Hill and One Mile Wismar.
By Ariana Gordon
