Shooting at Five Corners in Linden should not deter visitors and investments

Dear Editor,
The recent shooting at Five Corners in Linden – allegedly involving gang members opening fire on police in a public space, with many people nearby and surrounding businesses – is cause for serious concern.
The emergence of gangs in Linden, the seemingly easy access to lethal weapons, and the alleged willingness of those possessing such weapons to fire on police in a populated area, are all alarming developments.
Threatening the lives of innocent people cannot be taken lightly. Respect for the law and law enforcement officers must go together. The police must ensure every action is taken to press charges against perpetrators of lawlessness, and a strong message must be sent against such acts in order to deter any such incidents in the future.
Equally, the police must do more to establish a much better working relationship with the communities in the township and region, in order to foster trust and respect for police efforts to fight and prevent crimes of all sorts.
Linden has a high rate of unemployment, especially among its youths. Linden youths are smart, many possess CXC subjects, technical certification and tertiary education; but cannot find jobs. Many of these youths are very talented in sports and the arts, but there are no facilities to nurture and improve their skills and talents; hence, idleness may lead to unlawful acts.
The Mackenzie Sports Club, once a primary venue for hosting multiple sporting disciplines and cultural activities, is still under seemingly endless construction and upgrades four budgets and billions of dollars later, with no end in sight. The facilities at Bayrock, which had been used by hundreds of athletes daily since 2018, are still not completed, preventing athletes from enjoying a well-equipped facility completed after years of slow construction, which is still ongoing. And none of the community grounds being enhanced by the Minister of Sport as his “flagship project”, of which he boasts, is ready for use in any of Linden’s eight constituencies.
We need our youths to be meaningfully engaged in progressive and productive endeavours, and sports and the arts can significantly aid in this regard. Lack of these engagements in our township and region denies the youths of many opportunities to satisfy their productive needs, which if fulfilled would create much-needed jobs and opportunities for our youths as well as our people.
This recent misdirected energy at the Five Corners should not deter visitors, investors, and investments from coming to the next great city in our country. Linden, the heart of Guyana, is the place to visit and invest in 2025. We welcome all to Linden.
Yours respectfully,
Jermaine Figueira, MP