Dear Editor,
Why is it that the Georgetown City Council cannot simply repair and maintain the famous Stabroek Market clock?
All over the world there are prominent clock towers such as the ‘Big Ben’ in London, The Philadelphia City Hall tower clocks, The Saviour Tower clocks located in the famous Red Square, close to Saint Basil’s Cathedral and which is part of the Kremlin walls in Moscow, Russia, The Peace Tower Clocks, in Ottawa, Canada and the list goes on and on with many, many more.
But in Georgetown in the heart of downtown, in our capital, our Stabroek clock ground to a halt ages ago and was left like that, possibly to remind us that time stands still at City Hall with hardly anything moving forward.
Why is this so? Are we cultural barbarians? Do we have to learn history to appreciate heritage?
Repairing it and keeping it going would not require rocket science. It is a mechanical clock, and some of its component parts may be worn, or broken. With today’s technology, spare parts can be easily fabricated to replace the obsolete ones.
Are we inviting thousands of persons to visit our country in this year of Guyana’s Golden Jubilee of its Independence, many of whom will certainly tour the Stabroek Market area, to glance upwards at the clock, and then smugly retort to each other that time seems to be standing still in the city of Georgetown?
Digging a few drains and weeding a few parapets is fine but if one morning, I could pass by the market, and observe this iconic clock ticking away, for me it would be the first real step in the restoration of our capital to its former glory and I daresay for many others as well.
Yours faithfully,
Debra Gibson
