RECENTLY, the Guyana Fire Service declared the Georgetown City Hall to be a fire hazard, with the implication that the structure of the building is in such a state of disrepair as to pose a threat to the lives and limbs of persons who may go into or near to it.  Over the last several years such warnings have been forthcoming from other sources and at last, the City Council has taken them seriously and is constructing a new administrative centre for itself.

The City Hall, or to use its more accurate appellation ‘Town Hall,’ had seen better times and was once one of the main centres of life of the city.  It was opened in 1879 and was among the several beautiful and impressive buildings which were constructed in the town about this time.  The Public Building, renamed Parliament Building, was opened in 1837 and is famous for having been built on a floating foundation and obliquely opposite to it are the Magistrate Courts which were built slightly earlier.  In 1880 the Victoria Law Courts were opened and in 1881 the Stabroek Market was erected.  The Hand-in-Hand building came up a few years earlier in 1867.  The Town Hall was therefore part of a constellation of beautifully designed and impressively awesome buildings. Twinning with the Town Hall is the outstanding City Engineer’s office.

The Town Hall stands out as the greatest wooden neo-Gothic building in the Caribbean and was, as it were, taken out of Fairyland.  It came into use immediately and housed the mayor’s office, the Council’s chamber with its impressive horseshoe table and the administrative offices. It came to be the hub of the town’s socio-cultural activities as well.  Its broad and impressive stairway led to an auditorium with polished floors, 400 neatly laid out chairs, coloured glass windows which reflected various colours when the sun shone through and a stage that had an organ and a piano and space which was acoustically accurate.

On the weekends, in the late afternoons, concerts were arranged where musicians like Lynette Dolphin, Lynette Katchay,  Rosemary Ramdeholl and others performed on the piano and violin.  Singers also performed and many international singers and musicians who were touring Latin America would take in Guyana in their itinerary.  Many citizens were introduced to Western classical music at these concerts.  When political parties were formed, they would almost all launch their electoral campaigns at the Town Hall.  During the Christmas season, children’s parties were often held in the courtyard.

The city was managed by councillors who were businessmen and professionals, people of education and of means.  There was always an undertaker on the Council since the Council was responsible for Le Repentir and other cemeteries.  These councillors represented various constituencies in the city and the citizens had full and easy access to them.  These councillors served pro bono publico and received no pay nor allowances of any kind.

The Councils were supported by an equally able and career workforce who were recruited on the basis of merit.  Employment at the Town Hall had the same prestige as the Colonial Civil Service.  Councillors were of the ilk of LFS Burnham, Sir Lionel Luckhoo, R.B. Gajraj and members of the Gonsalves and DeFreitas families and the administrative staff had such distinguished Town Clerks as E.A.Adams and Elmore Mayers, Treasurers like Ramalho and City Engineers like Nurse and Maitland Singh.   Unlike today, most of the councillors and the workforce were born in the city or lived there for most of their lives. The gradual decay of the town and the breakdown of the services came with the advent of independence.   The Councils became politicised with councillors with less managerial skills than formerly and the main criterion of employment became political affiliation.  The sewage and water systems broke down, the roads were allowed to deteriorate, Le Repentir cemetery which was once like a well-kept park, reverted to a jungle and the financial management became chaotic.  The decay of the Town Hall is of apiece with the decay of the rest of the city.

The historic and heritage importance of the Town Hall is well understood by all Guyanese, by the City Council, by the central government and even by the diplomatic community.  The European Union has pledged $100 million and the central government and other donors would fund the complete restoration, but they are reluctant to have the Mayor and Town Council manage the project.

We would suggest that the restoration and future control of the building be given to the National Trust, who would in turn delegate these tasks to an executive committee drawn from a wide cross-section, including members of the diplomatic community.  The City Council would already have had their new administrative building and would work out arrangements for usage of the restored building with the National Trust’s executive committee. Legislation would have to be made to effectuate these arrangements.   Coming to a consensus would now be easier, given the meeting which took place between President Ali with a central government delegation and the Mayor and City Council in March last, where much goodwill and understanding permeated.