IN an effort to reclaim the city’s alleyways which are important for draining and storing storm waters, the City Administration will today demolish a section of the fence of the IMEX International building on High and Schumaker Streets, in downtown Georegtown. The City Administration is complaining that it has been blocked time and time again by the massive structure which has taken in the alleyway that is no longer visible.

The Guyana Chronicle could not locate the owner of the building but the publication was informed by the Public Relations Officer of City Hall, Deborah Lewis, that notices of warning were sent out to that person, but no responses were made to those warnings.
The PRO cleared the air that the exercise is not to victimise the businessman, but will form part of an intense campaign to reclaim the City’s alleyways. She said the public will be informed as those activities continue
Similar exercises might very well be done to a nearby building, just one corner away from the IMEX building on High Street.
It is unclear who owns the building as efforts by this publication were unsuccessful since the only name provided was “Chinee”.
From an elevated view, it appears the owner of the second building, which is unnamed, had built his property over a considerable portion of the alleyway running parallel to the Lombard and High Streets. This blocked all access to the alleyway.
Even more challenging, the City Administration would have to remove a massive generator which has been placed over the space of what used to be the alleyway.
Lewis told the Chronicle that the City Administration, in a collaborative effort between the Engineer’s Department and the City Constabulary, will be taking a team to the site today to have the fence of the building torn down.

Nearby businesses in the area occupied by the two encroaching buildings have complained of flooding in the area which is partly due to heavily silted alleyways that have not been cleaned by the City Administration.
Passers-by who were familiar with both properties alluded to some collusion at the level of City Hall since the City’s Administration would have received not only the building plans for these structures, but would have also approved those plans and further inspection works to ensure those plans were adhered to.
Efforts to contact City Engineer Colvern Venture were unsuccessful.

By Derwayne Wills

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