-on controversy over Farnum Playground
EVEN as the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) made a decision on Monday for Mae’s Schools to halt works on the Farnum Playground in Subryanville, construction works continued on Thursday. Deputy Mayor Lionel Jaikarran had told the statutory meeting on Monday that about a third of the land was being partitioned by the school.
Asked to comment on the matter, Jaikarran told the Guyana Chronicle that when he enquired about it from Mayor Patricia Chase-Green on Wednesday, he was told that construction on the site had stopped. Jaikarran said he asked because he was concerned that the matter was making the City Council look bad.
He, however, said that a meeting has been fixed for today between the owner of the school, the M&CC and residents of the community.
Last Monday, Town Clerk Royston King informed councillors that an agreement was signed with the owner of Mae’s Schools for that institution to upgrade and repair the Farnum Playground at their expense.
On hearing this, the council immediately ordered a cessation of work.
“I want to express thanks to Mayfield Rodrigues of Mae’s Schools, who has agreed to upgrade and repair the Farnum Ground at her own expense,” King said during announcements at the statutory meeting.
But Jaikarran got up to speak about a group of concerned residents of Subryanville – where the school and ground are located – who approached him about the matter.
He said the group was told by the owner of Mae’s that she has permission to do construction work on the land, and that she was in possession of a lease. When the residents asked to see the lease, Jaikarran said, the owner refused to show it and instead offered to provide a key to the ground if they so desire one.
King responded that the negative state of affairs at the ground was not conducive to the health and well-being of the nation’s children who use it. He said he approached the owner of the school and, being the civic-minded person that she is, she agreed to lend support to the playground.
The site, King observed, was being used by horses, donkeys and cows, and was in a state of disrepair. Despite this, the schoolchildren were using it.
Although there is a written agreement that Rodrigues will repair the ground, King said she has no exclusive rights to it. “All she’s asking is that her children be able to use it,” he said. He maintained that it was not a lease; only a written agreement.
Councillor Bishram Kuppen said councillors should be afforded the opportunity to see the agreement, because, in time, the owner of the school can very well apply for prescriptive rights.
“And why are they partitioning the land? That gives them special rights!” Kuppen argued, adding that the matter should have come before the Legal Affairs Committee, so that the Council will not be taken advantage of in future.
Jaikarran conceded that the agreement should be shared with councillors, and that there should be no partitioning of the land. He also recommended that any construction on the land be halted until the matter is considered in detail.
Council agreed that a neighbourhood committee should be formed to deal with the matter, and that no more work should be done in the meantime. The Guyana Chronicle, however, observed on Wednesday that construction work was still going on in spite of the Council’s decision.
