PERMANENT Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Mr. Alfred King has indicated that the 1823 Monument, currently being erected on Carifesta Avenue, in Georgetown, will be completed by the end of this month.

In a recent telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle, he said the project is now approximately 90 percent complete and the contractors are, presently, working to finish it.
This includes creating a parking lot and an area where persons can dwell next to the edifice and he pointed out that painting of the white picket fence around the compound has already been done, as well as the base of the structure.
King said when the final work on the parking facility is finished, the only thing left to be accomplished would be the installation of the actual sculpture done by Guyanese-born sculptor Ivor Thom.
The nine-foot high bronze image is being placed there, in memory of those who lost their lives during the 1823 slave rebellion, despite some degree of controversy about the choice of the site.
There had been much dithering over what might be the most appropriate place for it, with some persons (including from African organisations) complaining that they were not consulted and others expressing the view that the Parade Ground (Independence Park) on Middle Street, also in the city, would have been a more suitable location.