ALBOUYSTOWN is today regarded as the slum area of the City of Georgetown. This image of Albouystown is a comparatively recent one. Until the 1960s, Albouystown was a neat suburban village with each yard having a cottage in which the owner lived often with a tenant or two renting the rooms below the owner’s cottage.

Every yard had various fruit trees such as genips, mangoes, star apples, coconut, guavas, avocados, carambolas, etc. Since the owners occupied their properties, the yards were kept clean, and the rubbish carts, later trucks, regularly collected rubbish incinerated at the incinerator in the Le Repentir cemetery bordering the village.

The population worked outside the village as vendors in the markets, sawmill workers, fishermen, stevedores, and porknockers, mining for gold and diamonds in the interior. Other village residents were self-employed tradesmen such as carpenters, joiners, shoe repairers, goldsmiths, vat makers, tailors, etc. This multi-racial community was closely knit, and crime was a rarity. In 1906, when Albuoystown was integrated into Georgetown as a ward, it was regarded as an asset and enhancement of the town.

In the 1960s, Guyana was afflicted with racio-political violence and many youths from the East Coast villages with criminal tendencies began to invade the ward, attacking and robbing residents and creating an imbroglio. Numerous Chinese and Portuguese families emigrated to North America, as did some East Indians. Most property owners left the ward, renting their houses at peppercorn rentals, which they were rarely able to collect.

The buildings deteriorated, the rubbish collection became a rarity, the yards became overcrowded with illegal shacks, and the streets became potholed. Albouystown had now become a slum area that the Central Government and Town Council seemed to have abandoned.

With the discovery of large oil resources holding out the prospect of Guyana becoming a wealthy and developed country, a spirit of optimism and creativity has overtaken Guyana, manifested by those entrusted with the country’s governance. They have ventured into multifarious social and economic national developments. One of the most notable is accepting the challenge of eliminating the slum area of the capital city of Georgetown.

The Central Government and the Georgetown City Council have already embarked upon renewing the infrastructure of Albouystown, with Independence Boulevard becoming the pride of the place. The Boulevard connects Albouystown with the East Bank, Demerara; the two international airports; with the law courts and the main business area of Georgetown being within walking distance; and also allows easy and quick access to the onshore oil and gas installations on the West Coast Demerara.

A few of the other cross streets are still to be renewed and when Vice-President Jagdeo and members of his Cabinet did a recent outreach to the ward, they promised to complete the renewal of the other streets, prioritising James Street, which runs from east to west in the middle of the ward and parallel with Independence Boulevard. Many householders have begun to repaint and repair their buildings, and this can be seen in the aerial views.

To quicken the pace of the renewal, the Guyana Consumers Association has proposed the following to the relevant Authorities: (i) The City Council must effectuate the law which gives it the Authority to demolish any structure which contravenes the City Engineer’s By-laws. This would eliminate the shacks, many of which are unoccupied, and those structures which clutter yards and block off air and light (ii) Residents should be encouraged to apply for house lots and to be guided as to the process of so doing and the loan opportunities available. (iii)Taxes have not been paid on many properties for many years, sometimes decades, and the houses on such lots are all ripe for demolition.

The City Council has to use the law authorising execution sales of such properties and should do so after advertising the property to be sold for a month and be prepared to negotiate with the owners to waive a part of the interest on the debt owed if such defaulting owners were to make their appearance.

If execution sales are effectuated, the new owners must rebuild properly designed buildings. (iv) If any owner or investor is willing to build three or four-storey blocks of flats, provide security and have gated communities, that investor should qualify for a 10-year waiver of income taxes on rentals and a grant of $5 million in cash or building materials. A half lot would be able to accommodate two or three such blocks of flats.

Albouystown has situational advantages which no other ward has:- it is within reach of the two international airports, the burgeoning business sector of the East Bank, Demerara, the Onshore Oil Centres and within walking distance of the Law Courts and the City’s main shopping centres. People who work in these establishments would prefer to live in Albouystown once their accommodation is comfortable and safe. The blocks of flats and the new buildings would offer such accommodation.

Property values (as distinct from prices) would have increased by the State’s investment of approximately $3 billion in the Ward and the State’s firm commitment to making further investments in renewing Albouystown and extirpating its slum area image. Secondly, the attraction of prospective tenants who work on the East Bank and on the West Coast to live in the new flats and houses in the ward would begin to make it a middle-class area, bringing good returns on investment.

And thirdly, Independence Boulevard is developing into a business area like Regent Street since it is in the heart of the most populated area in the City of Georgetown. The image of the slum area of Albouystown is quickly disappearing as the tempo of its material development and its recognition as a profitable investment hub grow.

At the moment, a half lot (66 to 70 feet by 100 to 120 feet) could be acquired for $18 to $20 million, which is approximately half the price of similar properties in other parts of the City. Sometimes, one may even get a better bargain depending on the location and condition of the structures on the property. For the large and particularly the small investor, Albouystown properties offer the most attractive option.