President Irfaan Ali’s academic thesis was on regional and urban planning, so the citizens of this land might have been justified in assuming that his government would have been more committed to introducing a measure of order into our built environment than what the evidence would currently suggest is the case. At a Caribbean Urban Forum held over a year ago the head of state was reported as saying that his government’s vision for urban transformation included a modernised city. Contrary to what he told his audience, it would seem that a modernised city is not very high on his list of priorities, but then for him to address that question would involve working with the City Council and providing it with resources, which politically there is no disposition to do in the PPP/C. In particular it would mean confronting the ongoing issue of the City Engineer’s Department, over which in terms of the senior personnel employed there, the government still retains control through the agency of the Local Government Commission.
As for town and regional planning, not a whisper about that has emerged from the Presidential Secretariat, and this despite the fact that there is a town plan for Georgetown at least, on file, dating from 2001. As for President Ali, his skills, it would appear, are being directed to the creation of an entirely new urban centre on the Highway, which presumably (if it ever materialises) he would in due course arrange to have named the capital, Brasilia style.
However, even without new plans for the capital and elsewhere, there would be an improvement in urban citizens’ lives if the regulations in relation to new buildings which currently exist were implemented, and the President made it clear he wanted to see them implemented. As things stand there are rules about what can be built in areas categorised as residential, although as mentioned, these are rarely enforced.
To give one of the more egregious examples, a hotel is built in a city residential area which is to be granted a casino licence, and then because no parking facilities are required in the original plan part of Merriman Mall is taken over to provide the requisite parking capacity. This deprives citizens of a substantial portion of one of the few green spaces to which they have access. At the time when the hotel was under construction, which by virtue of its size, design and purpose was in any case inappropriate for its surroundings, one resident told this newspaper there was no point in complaining because they could see the “big ones” coming there to visit. The implication is clear.
But all over the city as well as in other urban areas, unsuitable as well as illegal structures sprout from the earth like so many concrete weeds, and in the case of Georgetown, sometimes with planning permission from an unprofessionally complaisant City Engineer’s Department. And when there is a legitimate applicant who goes through the processes as required, he or she might be ignored. This was the complaint of Mr Christopher Ram in June this year whose architect had applied for approval to construct a new building in Waterloo Street. The initial application had to be made to the City Engineer’s Department, which was in receipt of it, but he had received no communication in relation to any aspect of it after the passage of ten weeks.
“I have made numerous calls to the CED and the Mayor pleading, cajoling and imploring them to act on the application. On the occasions when my calls are taken, promises are sometimes made, but never kept,” he wrote in a letter to this newspaper. He later said that the poor performance of the City Engineer’s Department should not be allowed to continue, and along with its methods of operation it should be subject to an investigation and overhaul.
At least where the City Engineer himself is concerned, there would be some sympathy for his position from the M&CC, which has made various criticisms about how that official discharges his duties, and which had requested the Local Government Commission to terminate his services, more particularly because of the flooding situation in Georgetown. The Commission has shown no indication of any intention to accede to this, possibly because it seeks to blame the M&CC for the floods to demonstrate to the voters how the government could do a much better job.
Whatever the case where that is concerned, it has to be said that a department which could only manufacture nine manhole covers in a month when 23 were required, might be challenged when it has to deal with the more complex issues of building permits. It is true that last year an illegal construction by Superior Concrete Inc at Houston was halted by the Ministry of Housing as well as the M&CC, the latter of which was preparing to go to the High Court in the matter. The case involved aggravated circumstances, however, since the crude and arrogant principals of the company had ordered the Minister of Housing and Water as well as CEO of the CH&PA off the site when they visited. The offenders found themselves asked to leave the country.
The most recent action in relation to an illegal construction did not involve the City Engineer’s Department, since the site was located outside Georgetown; it was a matter for the CH&PA. The fact that action was taken at all in this instance was probably a consequence of residents nearby who were articulate and persistent and made the issue public. It involved an apartment building being constructed at Nandy Park, EBD, which was proceeding without the necessary permission from the CH&PA. As is now so often the case this was occurring in an area classified as residential. When this newspaper spoke to CEO Sherwyn Greaves of the Authority after a letter from a resident was published, he confirmed the lack of permission, and said that construction should cease. Residents said that the contractor had recently asked them if he could concrete the parapets for parking, which caused them to try and protect them with large bricks.
In the letter a resident said: “This is a residential zone. Apartment complexes with a significant number of tenants are not permitted in residential zones. This apartment complex is not in compliance with the parking regulations. A significant number of tenants in the apartments will result in parking congestion and disrupt the quiet nature of Lindley Avenue.” There was also a question of fire safety, since the construction was very close to a neighbour’s fence.
Exactly why it is so easy for builders to flout the law becomes clear after this newspaper was told that since May there had been numerous letters to the Environmental Health Officer, the Chairman of the Eccles NDC and Minister Nigel Dharamlall, but the construction had still continued. As a last resort, said a resident, letters had also been sent to the President and Vice President of Guyana.
Finally, as of yesterday, we were able to report that contravention notices had been served on the owner of the apartment building, and that the final notice had been served last Saturday. Mr Greaves told SN that if the owner did not comply, legal action would be taken. The latter has now had two such notices, although in a telephone interview a resident told this newspaper that construction was still ongoing.
The story is a reflection of a perception among builders in this society that they can do what they want because no regulations will be enforced. If they are forced to make an application because complaints have been made after construction has commenced, they will try and ensure their building is well underway before doing so, in order that the relevant authority will balk at refusing a permit for a near completed structure. They have yet to discover that this will not save them; only systematic enforcement can teach this lesson.
While residents write or phone officialdom making their complaints known, these are invariably ignored. Apparently the notion of a residential area is not taken seriously at the level of the government or its agencies. This case only got so far because of the publicity it achieved; not all residents in other areas are so lucky.
Perhaps the President would do well to dust off his thesis to refresh his memory on the subject, and then read the riot act to his officials on this matter. We can do without the “institutional lawlessness” as one resident called it. The law is there to be enforced; contractors are not exempt.
