The eventual completion – albeit after a few extended deadlines – of Republic Bank’s new and imposing edifice at the corner of Camp and Robb streets brings to an end a protracted period of traffic congestion,  and inconvenience to pedestrians. There were times, during the earlier stages, when the presence of huge pieces of machinery on the street near to the work site held up the flow of traffic altogether and this newspaper detected a considerable degree of worry on the part of bank officials with whom we spoke during an earlier period in the year when no one seemed prepared or able to provide a completion date.

From all appearances it was worth the wait. The new Republic Bank building is an attractive structure that enhances the city appreciably, particularly the commercial neighbourhood in which it sits and – with every respect to the City Mall – completely dominates the neighbourhood in which it is located.

The building apart, the bank was clearly mindful of the need to create an immediate ambience befitting the elegance of the structure. The pavement that embraces the building on both Robb and Camp streets must surely be the most attractive piece of sidewalk in the city while the two small pieces of grass verge outside the bank on Robb Street promise to eventually become a well-manicured lawn perhaps even with attractive vegetation and a small flower garden thrown in for good measure.

The bottom line of this multi-million dollar investment of course has to do with Republic Bank’s seemingly relentless drive to increase its market share here by rendering its physical operations more efficient and paying more attention to customer comforts. That having been said the quality of the final product also reflects a mindfulness on the part of Republic Bank of the importance of doing what it can to enhance a city that has been almost completely ruined by the burden of a commercial clique that simply abuses our capital in pursuit of its profits.

What Republic has done, in essence, is to demonstrate the kind of corporate social responsibility to which other sections of the private sector simply pay an irritating lip service while the abuse of the city continues.

More than that the bank, hopefully, has sent a less than subtle message to both government and the municipality that good taste, elegance and a sense of environmental awareness are inextricably linked to the growth of our commercial culture.

And if it would be unreasonable to anticipate the replication of imposing and costly structures like the new Republic Bank building throughout the capital, the rest of the corporate and commercial community can at least try to emulate the bank in terms of its mindfulness of the need to create an external environment.  A point has surely now been reached where the dumping of garbage by business houses outside their very front doors and the encumbering of entrances with containers and other obstacles must be met with robust legal responses and public condemnation by  organizations like the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Private Sector Commission. It is, in many instances, members of some of these very organizations that are sometimes the principal transgressors.

What Republic Bank has done, in essence, is to lay down a challenge to the rest of the city, particularly commercial Georgetown, to raise its game,  to get its act together. In this regard we are only too well aware that there are sections of the Georgetown commercial  community which, by their actions, make it clear that they are not the least bit interested in a more pleasant city. If the law enforcement agencies – the Guyana Police Force and the various branches of the municipality can bestir themselves above their present woefully inadequate efforts, perhaps, just perhaps, we may be able to replicate elsewhere in the city something resembling the environment that attends the new Republic Bank building.

If there is a downside to the new development it is that the presence of the bank building is bound to place greater strain on the already severely limited parking facilities in an area that is growing in commercial significance. Part of the problem here is that there appears to be no real plan – again, despite the proclivity by public officials for lip service – to fashion a traffic management regime that takes account of the changing character of the city.

And if it is already apparent that vehicle parking will pose (is already posing) a problem in the vicinity of the new bank building, at least we can comfort ourselves in the fact that the new structure is a breath of fresh air in our woebegone capital.