Dear Editor,
I refer to the press release dated October 6, 2011 by the Pan African Movement (PAM) Guyana Branch, in which they objected to the installation of public conveniences east of the 1763 Monument, Square of the Revolution.
I wish to state that we are in sympathy with the sentiments and support the need for some action to be taken, as expressed by the PAM. It is an insult to the People of African Descent. These conveniences distort the area where the sun rises upon the monument, which is of historical and spiritual significance. The contiguous area was intended to be kept open.
I wish to state that when this structure was first observed, the Engineer’s Department stopped its construction. Bureaucrats from the Ministry of Culture offered an apology for not obtaining the requisite permission from the Mayor and City Council. Apart from this cultural assault on the 1763 monument, there is now a clear pattern of this government and its satellite agencies operating with imperial arrogance in so far as the capital is concerned
On a related issue, the Ministry of Culture or those responsible did not even attempt to identify a contractor who could relate to the 1763 monument; the manner by which the contractor was identified and the cost is, of course, another matter.
Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green JP