The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) on Monday moved a motion to see the establishment of a restoration fund committee to help fast track the rehabilitation process of the historic building.
According to the City’s Mayor, Ubraj Narine, every spark is the beginning to a fire, the same spark, he said, was lit during the Council’s statutory meeting, which saw nine committee members being elected.
He was keen to note during his remarks that this committee will be extended to include other stakeholders such as the Private Sector, the Chambers of Commerce, the National Trust, the Department of Tourism, civil society, and others.
“I believe this (building) is the eye of the City and we all, as Councillors, should work in this cohesive way to restore this historic building of our nation,” Narine said.
Councillor Oscar Clarke suggested that the Mayor be Chairman over the committee of nine members, which comprises six councillors, two from each political party and three officers.
Meanwhile the Deputy Mayor, Alfred Mentore, reminded that the structure was decaying in front of councillors as he urged them to support the motion. Further he said, “It’s one of those buildings that we use, but it’s now being abused and we got to do something about it. So we got to all take this very important decision to deal with this particular issue”.
The executives elected to serve were Mayor Ubraj Narine as Chairman, Deputy Town Clerk Sharon Harry-Munroe as Secretary, and Councillors Deon Younge, Oscar Clarke, Eketa Edwards, and Michael Leonard. Deputy Mayor Alfred Mentore, Acting Treasurer John Douglas and Deputy City Engineer (ag) Kenson Boston were also chosen to sit on the committee.
In February, the European Union (EU) handed over a document to the Mayor in relation to the restoration of City Hall’s deplorable structure and ways in which the space can be utilised to garner independent revenues.
EU Ambassador to Guyana Jernej Videti? made the presentation to the Mayor alongside Deputy Mayor Alfred Mentor.
Speaking with media operatives after discussions between the two parties, Videti? explained that some £280,000 was expended to craft the document, bringing new ideas to the restoration project. He noted that some plans include using the historic building as a tourism spot, where it can be booked for special events to earn money.
The Georgetown M&CC has pegged the overhaul of the City Hall building at over $400 million, and noted that stakeholders would strive to attain funding for the rehabilitation works.
The building has suffered much neglect over the years even though millions of dollars have been allocated to facilitate repairs, including some $20 million in 2012.
Just recently, the Mayor himself had disclosed plans of relocating some staffers due to the leaking roofs.
