Dear Editor,
Kitty Market stallholders and vendors welcome the long overdue restoration works being carried out on the Kitty Market.
We wish to put on public record our deep appreciation of the collaborative effort by central government and the Georgetown city council to restore the market to economic viability.
We note with profound gratitude the action of the APNU+AFC government, which has been in office for only 8 months, doing what the PPP/C government failed to do in 23 years. We feel it is appropriate to recall that former president Bharrat Jagdeo in two successive general election campaigns visited the market and told his captive audience that his government was committed to building a new structure. History will record that he left office without honouring the commitment which he publicly made to the stallholders and vendors.
Former presidents Jagdeo and Ramotar were written to on separate occasions by Mayor Hamilton Green of the Mayor & City Council and the Kitty Market stallholders and vendors, requesting their support for the restoration of the market. Neither of them dignified the correspondence with a reply. However, the Ramotar government through the then Minister of Public Works committed central government to work with the city council to come up with plans to repair the market. Nothing came out of that process.
While we do not want to unduly politicise our protracted struggle to save the market and our businesses, we find it necessary to draw the nation’s attention to the fact that President David Granger, who has never made a political visit to the market to seek our votes, has demonstrated an understanding of our sufferings and acted responsibly. His government has allocated $240,000,000 to repair the market. Thank you, Mr President.
The restoration of the Kitty Market will restore community pride, and allow the market to once again play its historic role of providing meaningful service to the residents of Kitty and the surrounding communities.
In reflecting on our marathon struggle, we wish also to express our gratitude to the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Guyana (UG) and to its former Director, Professor Clive Thomas, who in the early days of our efforts, raised funds and carried out a study, produced and submitted an economic/social plan to the authorities for restoring the economic viability of the market. This assistance by the IDS, in a large way, played an important role over the years of struggle, in cementing our belief and strengthened our resolve that the market can have a viable future.
We also want to thank Mayor Hamilton Green and those progressive Councillors of the Mayor & City Council, who throughout this struggle, remained committed to the restoration of the market and the need to have it remain a community and city asset.
Town Clerk Mr Royston King who is responsible for the execution of the restoration project, has our full support and cooperation in this endeavour. We look forward to consultations as the work progresses.
Yours faithfully,
Tacuma Ogunseye
For Kitty Market Action Committee
