Late last week, City Hall, through Town Clerk Royston King, announced that this year’s Independence flag-raising ceremony was billed for the Stabroek Market Square and that preparing the venue for this august event would cost some $100 million and take two weeks. The preparations, Mr King said, would entail washing and cleaning the market, remedial work to be done to the front of the edifice, cleaning the drains, resurfacing the tarmac (square) and installing lights, signs and other facilities. In addition, the vendors would have to be removed, as well as the taxis and minibuses which use the area as a terminus. He said he did not know as yet where they would all be relocated, but that the work was expected to begin on Saturday last.
Mr King, sounding quite chuffed, said how pleased he was by this ‘brilliant idea’ to hold the flag raising at the Stabroek Square as it had been part of what the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had envisioned – transforming the area into a civic square. The Ministry of Education confirmed this choice of venue in a press release it issued on Thursday last, noting that this would be the first time that the flag raising ceremony will be held at the Square. The ministry’s National Events Director Lt Colonel Godfrey Bess noted that in order to achieve this, infrastructural works were scheduled to be undertaken and completed by the relevant stakeholders, and he named the M&CC, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, the Guyana Fire Service and the Guyana Water Incorporated among those stakeholders.
Mr King, though not quite sure how the cost of preparing the Stabroek Square would be funded as this was still being discussed, felt it was highly likely that government would foot the bill. What he meant in fact was that citizens would pay for it. As we all know, in reality, government does not really pay for anything, taxpayers do. So whether the money came from the government, which is so hard up it has to tax education, or the cash-strapped City Hall, it is from the purses of penny-pinching workers that the approximately $100 million will be spent.
There are several questions that need to be answered as regards this move, apart from who dreamed it up, of course. One of the burning questions would be why not D’Urban Park. Here it is, the city has a park that appears to have been built for such occasions. Completed last year at a cost of $1.37 billion just in time for the Golden Jubilee celebrations, D’Urban Park is underutilised, unless one takes into account the vagrants who have now made it their massive master suite. They can be found sleeping on the stands at odd hours of the day and perhaps at night as well. Given the local propensity for public urination by men who have homes and access to toilet facilities, how unlikely is it that the vagrants are not using the D’Urban Park for same? Not very. How long before they also begin cooking the odd meal there as had been the case elsewhere? Church Street outside the Indian Monument Gardens is one place that comes to mind.
If D’Urban Park was so ideal for the 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations, why not the 51st? If there is something wrong with D’Urban Park, government should say. And if there is, it should also say why it has not decided to utilize other available facilities such as the National Park (where many flag-raising ceremonies have been held in the past) or the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.
Another question brings us back to the Stabroek Market Square. While it’s great news that it is to be sanitized and the drains cleaned, isn’t this what the M&CC should be doing all the time anyhow? Maintaining the market and cleaning the surrounding drains are part of the council’s mandate and it should be done continuously. Isn’t there a schedule for market cleaning? Why isn’t the council doing its job?
Then again, a year ago, last year this time to be precise, Mr King had announced that vendors at Stabroek Market Square were to be moved temporarily to facilitate resurfacing, cleaning and reorganising of the bus and car parks and vending spots. Those activities were intended to spruce up the Stabroek Square for the Golden Jubilee celebrations. The move, Mr King had said, would have been for four months and although the vendors had protested bitterly, eventually they were removed and relocated to a privately-owned empty lot at Hadfield and Lombard streets, totally unsuitable for vending and susceptible to flooding when it rained, that had been leased by the city.
The clean-up and reorganizing were done and the new-look Stabroek Square was much photographed and commented on. The vendors, however, were forced to remain at the depressing area, cruelly dubbed ‘Parliament View Mall’ until December last year, when amid much confusion over the lease, the city allowed them to return to the Square, until a permanent solution could be found. This permanent solution continues to elude City Hall, which refuses to admit that it just does not have a plan for the city, hence its many ad hoc moves, much less for vendors.
What should not escape the attention of those representing the interests of Georgetown residents around the horse-shoe table however, is the fact that since the Stabroek Square was revamped a year ago, it cannot realistically cost $100 million to do it this year. Moreover, if the City Council found itself in the happy possession of $100 million shouldn’t this money go towards fixing the Stabroek Market wharf which has been falling into the Demerara River for years? Or towards building a permanent spot for the vendors? And if the government is of a mind to spend $100 million of taxpayers’ money on the city then there are several streets and canals that could benefit.
In short, turn away from this hare-brained scheme and make use of the D’Urban Park or the National Park to hold the flag-raising ceremony.
Note: After the writing of this column, Mr King revealed yesterday that the Stabroek Square was off the cards and the Parade Ground was being considered instead.
