Proposed sites for Walter Roth Museum unsuitable

Jennifer Wishart

The National Museum cannot be extended to house the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology and a proposal to use the top flat of the post office building has been found to be untenable, Director Jennifer Wishart said adding that she was informed that a search is now on for a new location.

Wishart told Stabroek News that last Tuesday she received a call to meet Junior Minister of Education Nicolette Henry to discuss a proposal to contract her services as a consultant for the museum’s transition.

She said Henry told her that the ministry would prepare a two-month contract for her if she accepted the proposal. She said she did not give an answer then as she wanted time to think about the overall contract and what it would mean for her and the museum.

However, Wishart added that when she got home she received a call from an official at the National Museum, who informed her that the very same morning Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson visited the building with a contractor from the ministry to check if the building had the capacity to accommodate the possible extension.

“… They said it was not possible to build there. Something to do with the roots of the trees,” she stated.