THE Georgetown City Council and the local Pan-African Movement are engaged in talks to end the impasse occasioned by City Hall’s demolition of two concrete walls that belong to the local Pan African Movement during a City Hall environmental enhancement campaign.

Mayor and City Council’s Public Relations Officer, Debra Lewis, made this disclosure and said that a key representative of the Movement, Dr. Joycelynne Loncke, confirmed that talks are under way.

A new twist has unfortunately enveloped the situation, with the caravan belonging to the Pan-African Movement being forcibly evicted from the controversial spot it had occupied on the Merriman Mall to be dumped in Le Repentir Cemetery at the mercy of vandals and other persons. Moreover, the flowering and beautifying shrubs that had been planted on the mall have been bulldozed and the surface has been levelled by heavy earth moving machinery.

Repossession of the reserve land (between Oronoque and Light Streets) that had allegedly been leased to the Pan-African Movement seems to be irrevocable.

Dr. Loncke had, two Saturdays ago, expressed outrage on learning of the demolition of the walls, removal of a 20-foot steel container, and destruction of trees and flowering shrubs newly planted on a portion of the Merriman Mall that had allegedly been leased to the Movement in 1994.
She sought an audience with the Deputy Mayor and the Town Clerk in the absence of Mayor Hamilton Green, who is out of the country. Town Clerk Royston King is insisting that he was unaware of the reserve being leased to the Movement by the Council.

Dr. Loncke is contending that the Movement will not take this matter lightly, as tremendous losses have been incurred in the process of the demolition exercise and trimming of trees, which destroyed several plants the Movement had only recently put down there.

Dr. Loncke recalled that, ironically, just over two months ago (in early August), the local Pan-African body had responded to the City Hall call to plant and cultivate fresh green areas.

“And so we planted about 19 trees, running along Church Street and North Road,” she said. In the same vein, they photographed the area with members at work and the Chairman, Mr. Richie Park, planting a tree. She is of the view that if the Movement had publicised in the media what it had quietly undertaken, a different situation might have obtained.
DEMOLITION CONTINUES
But although locked in conflict with the Pan African Movement, the Town Clerk has issued a stern warning that City Hall is in the process of reclaiming all parapets, alleyways and reserves which persons and businesses have been occupying over time.

Public Relations Officer Debra Lewis yesterday told the Guyana Chronicle that releases have been issued to this effect. “Generally, people have become so callous with the use of public spaces that, even though given permission, some would have abused it,” she said.

Lewis recalled the many incidents in which people had actually fenced off alleyways or built gates and padlocked them to deny the council access to the public spaces. The result, she said, was that when the sanitation crews needed to access the areas to do cleaning, they were unable to so do.

Other persons have planted or built structures on the council’s reserves, and they don’t intend to move.
“And so council will be reclaiming all parapets and reserves,” she said.

Asked if that pertains to reserve lands occupied in areas such as North and South Ruimveldt, the PRO said it’s a relative matter, since spots boosting development may not be targeted.

The PR official said that going after people who encumber parapets and alleyways is stressful, provocative, and impedes progress, such as preventing the clearing of the areas and desilting of drains therein.
She mentioned a house in Kitty where the property owner took in a considerable portion of M&CC land as his personal property. The result, she said, was that some 15 to 20 houses are heavily inundated whenever it rains, because the sanitation workers are unable to access the area to do draining and desilting works.

“We are faced with complaints every day,” Lewis said. She said there are 11 main drainage canals in the city, and since many of these are heavily silted, clearing them becomes very challenging. The 11 main drainage canals are located at: Meadow Bank; Cane View Avenue; River View, Ruimveldt; Sussex Street; Princes Street; Lamaha Street; Cowan Street; Muneshwer’s (Water Street); Croal Street, and South Road.

Meadow Bank, South Road and Croal Street have thus far been cleared, and the workforce is now concentrating on Princes Street.

Lewis has expressed concern over the wanton disposal of refuse, and the abuse of the waterways by citizens. She said, “…some people may not like what we’ll do, but we have to do what we have to do to have them comply with the city’s by-laws.” (Shirley Thomas)

By Shirley Thomas