WITH an increasing number of high rise buildings going up around the city, Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, has said that he is eager to see the implementation of new building codes.

During a sit-down interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Mayor Narine also pointed out the numerous fires that have occurred around the city recently and the lack of proper fire prevention measures at many commercial buildings.

For him, these are among the issues that must be addressed when it comes to buildings in the city.

“After having seen the kind of fires we’ve had last year and this year already with fire, it’s not a good sign for us. The current building codes are very outdated and that is something we have to rectify. The current building codes don’t even cater for concrete buildings in the city,” Narine explained.

He added that “With all these recent fires in the city of Georgetown it shows that we need more collaboration with the fire service, private sector and other stakeholders to put forward a better building code which all of these stakeholders can come to a consensus on and have it tabled before council and then have it approved so that it can be sent to the minister and [he] give his final views.”

The need for improved building codes in the city has been a point of discussion for some time now, however, with massive development already ongoing and even greater development on the horizon, the issue is taking on new importance. The current building codes are considered wantonly insufficient in giving the M&CC authority to properly mandate and enforce the proper measures in the construction of buildings.

“It can be rectified if we work on it right now, we can rectify it before it gets worst. It will help us because a lot of major buildings going up, construction is happening and a lot of the investors are here. We can have a round table discussion to come to some kind of consensus,” he said.

Just last month, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, announced plans to erect a modern 11-storey police station complex to replace the Brickdam Police Station that was destroyed in a massive fire last year. Should it go forward, this building would be one of the highest in the city, and will continue a trend of increasingly higher buildings around Georgetown.

Mayor Narine noted that in the case of such buildings the final go ahead actually lies with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA). However, he said the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) would play a role in monitoring the building throughout construction to ensure necessary measures are in place.

He said that the M&CC has already completed a draft of the new by-laws, and has been in discussions with the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers (GAPE) to look over the new recommended measures.

“We have started that and an expert, Charles Ceres, gave us a document that he and the City Works Committee Chairperson, Nikita Edwards, and [Deputy City Engineer] Kabila Hollingsworth put together that that document is with the Engineer’s Association,” he added.

There will be round table stakeholder consultations on the draft codes involving a number of agencies including the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), Guyana Water Inc (GWI), Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the private sector, and citizens.

Many building plans submitted to the M&CC are forwarded to these organisations for their sanction. Given the absence of proper codes, Mayor Narine said the city depends largely on the authority and regulations of other agencies to ensure that building constructions follow the proper protocols.

Meanwhile, City Engineer, Colvern Venture, also underscored the need for changes in the building code by-laws.

“What is in the existing [Chapter] 28:01, the materials and processes are archaic. We need updating of the by-laws as it relates to construction in the city. Some of the laws that are written within the Chapter 28:01 they need to be revised …things like fees [and] building materials. That need to be reviewed,” he said.

He noted that even as the city awaits the revamped by-laws, the Engineer Department has updated some of its building requirements to ensure the safety of buildings, particularly commercial buildings.

“We have been doing a few things. I implemented a couple systems in place, in terms of looking at persons having to submit foundation drawings, we implemented a rule that if you are building beyond certain level you need to do soil investigation from reputable companies that does recommendations on the foundation for the building. With pile driving you have to take out insurance in the case of damage to other properties. These were put in place a while ago,” Venture said.