Mayor gives diplomats tour of dilapidated City Hall

…in bid to solicit funds for restoration

Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine on Friday gave several diplomats a tour of the city’s dilapidated structures in a bid to solicit funds for City Hall’s restoration.
In a social media post, the Mayor displayed several images of himself showing the diplomats around the city, especially the deplorable City Hall building, which is long overdue for rehabilitation works.

“The tour was conducted to initiate partnerships and cooperation initiatives in the areas of infrastructure, tourism, commerce, trade, training and many others,” the Mayor said.
In addition to City Hall, the diplomats also toured the Stabroek Market Wharf, which is on the verge of collapse. A few other sites which were toured included the Municipality Day Care Centre and the City Constabulary Training Centre.
On July 8, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) moved a motion to see the establishment of a restoration fund committee to help fast track the rehabilitation process of the historic building.
Although nine committee members were elected, Mayor Narine had informed 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.
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 because of the leaking roofs.