THE Mayor and Town Council of Bartica have embarked on a project to construct a Wall of Honour in the township, which is expected to be completed sometime next month.
According to Mayor Gifford Marshall, the wall is in recognition of outstanding sports personalities from Bartica, Region Seven. It is being constructed in the Bartica Community Center, which is now being transformed into a sports complex for the youths in the town.

“This project, while honouring our people, is also aimed to be a motivational center piece for youths to strive for excellence in academics and sports. Further, active mobility is a critical objective of our Green Agenda. It allows for the promotion of healthy lifestyles in our communities. As a result, investment in facilities to accommodate such is important to the municipality,” Marshall said.

On completion, the wall will have the names of distinguished men and women who served the township of Bartica in their respective fields of expertise.

This can also be a tourist attraction, or a way of bringing awareness to the eminent names in academics and sports that emerged from Bartica and Region Seven.

Thus far, some of the names that are to be added are Neil Hernandez, Brian Tracey, Terrence Archer, Vibert De Freitas, Calmeth Younge, Christopher George, Mark Smith, and Dianne Ferrierer, all of whom are renowned footballers who hailed from Bartica.

Hernandez’s name will be imprinted ‘in memory of’ since he would have lost his life back in 2007. Some other names, for example Brian Tracey, will also be imprinted ‘in memory of’.
Other names to be added, Marshall disclosed, are Ivor Mendonca and Basil Singh. Mendonca was a cricketer and Singh, an umpire.

The Mayor said that more names are to be added and more names will be added as the years go by, to continue encouraging the youths of the town to strive for excellence in everything that they do. To add to its beautification, the wall will be decked with decorative lights, and will also be enhanced with a landscape and water fountain.

Over the years, the Council would have embarked on several projects that aided to the development and beautification of the town. What was once a small rural community is now a well developing green town with many attractions. Since the appointment of the APNU+AFC government, and the reinstallation of the local governance, many areas in Guyana have seen significant improvements.

Mayor Marshall would vaunt often about where Bartica used to be, to where it is today. He said that there are many more projects earmarked, as the decade of development has just begun.