Acting Town Clerk says City Hall should be ready by tomorrow

WITH repairs still ongoing at City Hall, the traditional venue for Nomination Day, it is expected to be ready by tomorrow, following reports by Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle that the venue was a ‘fire hazard’.
City Hall has been meeting the full expenses of the repairs to the main corridor leading to the Chambers, and acting Town Clerk, Carol Sooba yesterday disclosed that a decision was made to have the corridors rehabilitated since it will be the rendezvous point for the media.
“Presently 60 per cent of the work on the corridor has been completed,” Sooba said yesterday, adding that it is expected that work will be completed by tomorrow, ahead of nomination day, slated for April 7.
According to Sooba, in an exclusive interview with this publication, traditional practices will be maintained, with the hosting of the event in the Chambers of City Hall. The entry point into the compound will be through Avenue of the Republic, while the exit point at the close of the day’s event will be Regent Street.
Meanwhile, commenting on the capacity of the combined delegations, the acting Town Clerk revealed that only forty persons will be accommodated in the Chambers during the submission of the parties’ lists to the Chief Elections Officer.
She further noted that the entire delegation of each of the parties will be prohibited from entering City Hall’s compound, and will remain on Regent Street, while the selected representatives of the parties, will proceed into the compound.
The City Constabulary will be supported by the police to oversee the maintenance of orderly conduct in the immediate environment while the nomination process takes place.
This renovation exercise was taken in response to the declaration made by Gentle who wrote to Sooba, in a letter dated March 20th, 2015 which read: “…It is advised that no mass gathering type of activities be held on the premises until the necessary recommendations submitted are implemented.”
The warning by Gentle was based on a Fire Prevention Inspection which was executed the same day by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS). Gentle had explained that the inspection had exposed 18 major issues of concern, which included loose and hanging electrical wires in various parts of the building, a southern fire escape staircase that is out of order, and an aging cracked metal staircase leading to the Council Chamber.
The acting Town Clerk had rejected these claims by the Chief Fire Officer, contending that, “the report is a general one that would have been submitted like any other building but it did not have to do with the preparation or condemning the building for Nomination Day.”

By Ravin Singh