Latest update March 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 28, 2021 News
Kaieteur News – Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, announced on Friday that the sum of $100M has been allocated for the restoration of City Hall.
While offering little detail on the plans during his contribution to the budget debate in the National Assembly, Dharamlall stressed on the commitment of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration to restore the historic building.
According to Dharamlall though the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) collected approximately $30B worth of taxes between2015-2020, the building was left to “rot.” He noted however that will not occur under the PPP/C’s watch.
He said President Irfaan Ali, shortly after taking office, constituted an inter-ministerial committee aimed at rebuilding Georgetown, and already $100M has been set aside for the restoration of City Hall.
“We the PPP/C are going to do it, something APNU could not do for City Hall,” the Local Government Minister told the House. Dharamlall said that the works are slated to commence this year.
However, in response to the Minister’s announcement, Mayor, Ubraj Narine, called the sum a mere “drop in the bucket.” He compared the allocation to approximately $1B, which is needed to restore City Hall.
He noted that while it is a good move to start putting funds towards fixing the building, he is unsure what the amount that was pledged will do.
“We had no consultation, so I don’t really know which part of the building that money is supposed to fix. I think the Minister should be aware of how much is actually needed to fix City Hall problems because I handed him a copy of the report after he took office, but we had no discussion on which phase this $100M is supposed to be used for. Right now, the roof is the most important thing that needs restoration and that would cost almost $500M,” the Mayor said in an invited comment.
City Hall has been the subject of a restoration project which dates back three years. During a previous interview, Mayor Narine stressed on the need to restore the iconic structure.
According to the Mayor, engineers estimated that it could be three years or two years before the building will be rendered completely useless.
As such, a public trust fund was launched last year aimed at preserving the aesthetics of the 19th Century Gothic Revival building. The initiative, which is a collaborative effort between the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC), the Guyana National Trust and the Private Sector Commission (PSC), came on stream last year. This followed the EU’s G$60M grant, which had previously financed the feasibility study to restore City Hall.
During the launch of the public trust, Mayor Narine stated that the Council is looking to raise at least US$5.2M or approximately G$1B, to restore the historic edifice.
He therefore called on the private sector, civil society, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, stakeholders and Guyanese abroad to play an integral role in saving the famous landmark.
The Mayor also sought to quell concerns over the management of the trust fund. He noted that the City Council will not be the only manager of the fund.
He stressed that a special committee was established to assist in the management of the trust fund; it will not be handled by City Hall alone.
“Any withdrawal from the account will have to be approved by the City Treasurer, a representative of the National Trust of Guyana, as well as the Private Sector Commission,” he said.
The Mayor noted too, that the intention is to establish accounts in various banks countrywide where persons could make contributions toward the project. At present, deposits can be made into account number 4023313 at Demerara Bank.
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