An environmental beautification exercise, aimed at cleaning up a section of the Merriman’s Mall between Oronoque and Light Streets, Bourda, and which commenced yesterday, has landed Town Clerk Royston King in hot water.
King incurred the wrath of the Georgetown-based Pan African Movement, headed by Dr. Jocelyn Loncke, after the Council’s work force demolished two concrete walls constructed by that body and towed away a 20-ft container from the facility, even as the Movement had big plans for utilizing the land leased to them.
The exercise yesterday, which started around 8:00 hrs, had as its main focus the removal of about 30 junkies who had taken up permanent residence there over time, the removal of an old 20 ft. steel container, which had virtually become home to them, as well as the trimming of overgrown trees and removal of garbage wantonly tossed there, constituting a virtual eye sore.
Having received a call from Dr. Loncke, Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase Green rushed down to the scene where the fences constructed of concrete had already been dismantled and the steel container was just being towed away by tractor.
Chase Greene, who claimed she had no knowledge of the exercise, expressed disappointment at the exercise. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Ms. Greene said, “I am a little disturbed and am deeply saddened, because I was not informed of this activity here this morning, and I know that some time in 1994or 1995, the Pan African Movement was given permission by City Hall to occupy this portion of land.
She said her understanding is that with a donation from the World Organization of Pan African Movement, the local body had expended large sums of monies to erect the fences, paint and padlock them and clean up the area generally. She said the Movement has not yet been able to do the kind of works they would like to do, but she is aware there is a plan for forging ahead. In the meantime, the wall was intended to keep persons out.
But while the organization was waiting to make their next move, the space and more specifically the 20-ft steel container, had become home to the junkies who had found a way of getting past the fence.
In time the group grew to about 30, and according to officials of the Council, they set up sheds and tents and even brought in a water line, having managed to hook themselves up to the main line along the roadside. For them it was a permanent home and the environment soon took on the look of literally a ‘Junkie City’.
Meanwhile, Ms. Chase Green insisted that had the representatives of the movement been told of the planned demolition exercise, they would have addressed the matter responsibly. She recalled that recently Council had spoken about the condition in which the area was, and the movement responded by making some effort to clean it up and put down plants to beautify it. They also brought in a newly built and freshly painted tavern which remains on the land.
Expressing total dissatisfaction with the way in which the demolition was done, Ms. Greene said, “I don’t know what caused it, but I have to approach the Town Clerk to find out what prompted such a drastic action.” She said her approach would have been “ if you want to reclaim your reserve, then call the persons concerned and have some discussion and give them an opportunity to relocate before Council moves ahead.”
Meantime, Ms. Greene citing an analogy, pointed to a huge stockpile of unsightly looking steel accumulated in and around a building next to the “The Dutch Bottle”, just a block away. She recalled that Council had long taken a decision to force the owner to clean up the premises and rid it of the junk, but to date no action has been taken.
Later, Town Clerk Royston King said he was not aware of the agreement between the Pan African Movement and the Council. However, his main reason for the demolition exercise was to rid the area of junkies.
He said, “We are doing a major refurbishing of the Merriman’s Mall from one end to the next; we are trimming and balancing the trees; cutting the grass; we are doing the drains on both ends; we are removing structures in the place that are being used by individuals as seclusion zones to carry out nefarious activities and other things that are not deemed good societal practice.” He revealed that the junkies were involved in sexual practices.
King also said that City Hall plans refurbishing the Monument of the Late Shirley Field Ridley, former Education Minister and wife of Mayor Hamilton Green which is located towards the easterly end of the Mall and off Oronoque Street. “The aim is to make that portion of Merriman’s Mall a place where everybody can relax in a clean and socially acceptable environment,” King said.
Of concern King said were the threats junkies posed in the environment, and the fact that neighbours on the opposite sides of the road were constantly complaining. “They had fire here; we’ve found them cooking; they defecated around the place.” He said both walls were padlocked and breaking the walls down was the only way they (Council) could have got in to execute their works.
While insisting he knows nothing about leasing the land to the Pan African Movement, King contends that anyone having got permission at that level to utilize the reserve meaningfully would not keep it in a manner as it is now.
By Shirley Thomas