Georgetown, GINA, July 30, 2008

As the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA X) draws near, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce is working feverishly to play its part and ensure that the festival is successful.
  Plotting a course in this direction, Tourism Minister Manniram Prashad today convened a meeting with business stakeholders located along Main Street to decorate this popular and historic section of the city.
  “The whole idea is to transform Main Street into a beautiful area, one week before CARIFESTA… I am appealing to patriotic Guyanese to work with me,” the Minister implored.
  He noted that the whole idea is based on transforming the area into a spectacular site that will encourage tourists to visit and support the restaurants, hotels and other businesses along the avenue.
  Minister Prashad suggested that the efforts similar to those put into the ‘Main Big Lime’ event are needed only on a larger scale. This calls for greater cooperation among the ministry and the private sector, he said.
  The Ministries of Finance and Culture, Youth and Sport, State House and the Prime Minister’s residence, the Tower Hotel, Courts, Demico Quik Serve among many others have all indicated that they will be decorating their buildings along with the trees on the avenue.
  Minister Prashad called on the other stakeholders to do their part in ensuring that the entire avenue is decorated and not just a section. As such a plan will be done to map the location of every tree on the avenue and this will be distributed to all the stakeholders for them to indicate which ‘block’ they will be decorating.
  The Minister sought the commitment of all the stakeholders in attendance and they have pledged their cooperation with the Ministry to make sure that Main Street is transformed into an unforgettable sight.
  The issue of security was raised by some stakeholders and Minister Prashad assured them that it is an issue that is being thoroughly examined as the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony is heading a special security committee for the festival.
  A special team will be working to enhance the beauty of the St. George’s Cathedral.
  Stakeholders that attended the meeting included TraveSpan GT Inc, Palm Court, Demico Quik Serve, Courts, Hotel Tower, Guyana Power & Light (GPL), Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Grand Coastal Inn.