EFFORTS are underway to relocate the Ministry of Natural Resources from its present site at Brickdam in the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) compound.This disclosure was made on Wednesday by Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, who said the move is to facilitate accommodation for Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes.
Minister Broomes was last week reassigned to the portfolio by President David Granger, while her previous post of Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection was filled by former Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Keith Scott.
According to Trotman, the Ministry’s present location is cramped for space and the move to relocate will see both ministers and their staff being comfortably accommodated, as well as members of the public who show up to conduct business.
The minister said that efforts to identify and select a building will be the responsibility of the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Joslyn McKenzie.
The building now being used by the Ministry was constructed by the GGGMC but it was taken over by the previous Government to house Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud, back then.
That decision had caused some concern in the GGMC, as their executives contended that the construction cost had been met by the Commission, and after investing millions on the foundation and erection of the building, they had to hand the property over to the Ministry without being compensated.
In the meantime, it is unclear whether the Government will construct a new facility, utilise one of the unoccupied state buildings, or lease a private building. It is also not known if the present building that houses the Ministry would be returned to the GGMC.
On the issue of unused state buildings, the previous Government had spent millions of dollars to demolish the former Guyana Broadcasting Corporation Building on High Street and construct a new facility to house the then Ministry of Human Services and Labour, but that plan never came to fruition.
To date the unoccupied building lies in a state of disrepair, with several contractual flaws which have prevented its occupancy. The Government had threatened to bring sanctions against the first and second contractors of the facility, but it is unclear if that was ever done.
The eyesore building has cracked walls, broken glass, missing windows and zinc sheets; has been subjected to wanton vandalism, and now serves as a haven for vagrants.
This High and Princes Street edifice is a glaring example of a state property that has been left unoccupied although millions had been spent to bring it into existence.
Another classic example is the unfinished Central Police Station in New Amsterdam, which has been under construction for some time now.
The Guyana Police Force is said to be renting the current facility used as the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam.
