MAYOR of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, has unveiled, what he called, a “visionary plan” for the rehabilitation and re-development of the Stabroek Market area.
Photos of a scenic, re-developed Stabroek area, fitted with high-rise buildings, a new market facility and a redesigned wharf, were posted on the Mayor’s Facebook Page on Thursday.
“The visionary plan of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, to rehabilitate and redevelop the Stabroek Market area, the wharf and its surrounding environment,” said Narine in his post on Facebook.

The Council, he said, has engaged all the necessary stakeholders who would partner with the Council to realise this project.

“We now await the green light from Central Government, to commence the necessary works,” said Mayor Narine.
Efforts to contact the Mayor for an overview of the project proved futile, but it was reported on Thursday that the City has suffered a 78 per cent loss in revenue since the onset of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Further, it was reported that the lack of finances has forced the Council to put several of its projects on hold.
Narine was reported as saying that the Council used the money that it had, on several priority items. The municipality, he explained, has to find $120 million per month for wages and owes the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) approximately some $400 million, an accumulated sum from 1993 to present.

“The plans that we had as Mayor and councillors we couldn’t execute, because the money is not there. The lil bit money that we actually have is to pay staff and to do other works that are necessary,” said Mayor Narine.

He used the opportunity to call on the Government to pay its outstanding rates and taxes, which he said would significantly help the Council to offset several expenses, which includes a $100 million debt to Puran Brothers for solid waste management.
He added that the municipality also owes the City Constabulary a retroactive amount of over $20 million, which it intends to pay by December 31.
The Mayor said the Council does not receive financial support from the Government, but said that while that was understandable, there were several strategies the Government can employ to ease the load of the Council.