M&CC to deploy donation boxes for City Hall’s restoration

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has resorted to public donations to raise funds for the restoration of the dilapidated City Hall, and donation boxes will be placed at strategic locations for contributions.
Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine said in a statement that persons will be able to contribute to the restoration activity since there has not been much progress in recent times.
“We want persons to be able to contribute towards saving City Hall if they wish to…City Hall is an important piece of Guyana’s history and there has been lots of talk about rehabilitating the structure, but not much has materialised. I, however, would like to be the one to see City Hall get the attention that is needed so that the structure could be returned to its once prestigious state,” he said.
Just last week, Narine gave members of the diplomatic community in Guyana a tour of the city’s dilapidated structures in a bid to solicit funds for City Hall’s restoration. 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 Council 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.
Back in February, the European Union (EU) had 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 Videtic made the presentation to which he stated 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 M&CC had pegged the overhaul of the City Hall building at over $400 million. However, other sections have deteriorated further and the administration had opted to constructive a temporary building for staffers.