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The Le Repentir Redevelopment.

The Le Repentir Cemetery has been the final resting place for citizens of Georgetown over the years the massive facility encompasses some 103.508 acres. It was first established in 1861 and is the largest municipal burial site in Guyana. 

The Council created its final draft report of the Le Repentir Cemetery Expansion Master Plan in March 2019 which highlighted the need for a re-envisioned burial site which would be elevated to the status of a national memorial.

As Georgetown continues to develop we must re-examine the Le Repentir with the focus of it not only being a final resting place for our loved ones but also providing additional transportation connection routes through the cemetery. 

In the Council’s plan, enhanced revetment works will prevent the further degradation of the land which has resulted in tombs falling into the canals and others laying precariously. This will also upgrade the drainage infrastructure of the cemetery which will assist in providing relief for the surrounding areas. Space for benches and lighting to allow comfortable viewing and reflection is also allocated to add to the beautification effort. 

The redevelopment of Le Repentir will significantly contribute to the outlook of the city in a demonstration of the dignity with which our departed are treated rather than the current overgrown grounds which are rapidly running out of space. Without immediate intervention, the challenge of space and accessibility will force the suspension of burials at the cemetery.  

As we commemorate the Enmore Martyrs’ who are buried in the Le Repentir and noting the elevation of the burial site of Dr Walter Rodney to the status of a National Monument this is an opportune time to address the challenges of maintenance of the Cemetery.  

The Council remains willing to work with all stakeholders to develop by-laws and policies to promote the maintenance of the scenic beauty of a redeveloped Le Repentir. These policies will include the regularizing of headstones and memorials at grave sites to promote uniformity and maximize the use of space. 

Read more https://mccgt.com/documents/mcc-le-repentir-re-development-master-plan/

Prime Minister supports Municipality’s full authority to force contractors to comply with by-laws

City Hall, Georgetown | Prime Minister Brig (r’td) Mark Phillips in his engagement with the Municipality indicated that the City must use whatever authority it has to force contractors and agencies to comply with the city by-laws. 

These remarks were made following the briefing received from His Worship the Mayor and Deputy Mayor Alfred Mentore who bemoaned the construction of drains and revetment work without consultation with the City Engineer’s department. 

Deputy Mayor Alfred Mentore stated that the officers of the Council are placed in a predicament when the Council makes its decisions, but they are called directly by state officials to act counter to those decisions. This is made worse by the Local Government Commission which has failed to act on the decisions of the Council to discipline officers.

Mayor Ubraj Narine highlighted the work on Vlissingen Road next to the Guyana Defence Force Base, an area that has technical challenges due to the pump station being located nearby. He stated that the drains being constructed are narrower than what existed, and no consultation was done with the Council on the construction. 

His Worship also highlighted the work being done on Camp Street in front of GRA which has already shown signs of compromising the surrounding drains.   

The Mayor stated that the Council is not anti-development but promotes collaboration to ensure all stakeholders are involved to avoid unnecessary inconveniences to the citizens of Georgetown. 

It was only recently that the Central Housing and Planning Authority indicated that it depends on the City Engineer’s department to approve plans before making its decisions and encouraged the department to ensure that all plans satisfy the Municipal requirements before forwarding them to the CHPA.

Mayor Narine and Prime Minister to collaborate on Camp Street Avenue 

City Hall, Georgetown | His Worship Pt Ubraj Narine indicated that he welcomes the offer by Prime Minister Brig (r’td) Mark Phillips to have a joint venture on Camp Street from Middle to Lamaha. 

His Worship praised the Prime Minister and stated that this was the relationship that he has advocated for with all Governments. 

The Mayor today updated the Prime Minister on some of the challenges that the Municipality faces with resources. He stated that Government and the Municipality can work together for the benefit of the citizens of Georgetown.

Under the APNUAFC administration, the Government and the City Council collaborated significantly which saw the cleaning of drains and repairs to roads being done in all constituencies of Georgetown. These works coupled with an annual subvention of over 300 million dollars directly impacted the citizens. The Council was able to purchase garbage trucks to assist in garbage collection and other heavy equipment to serve citizens resulting in a cleaner Georgetown. 

The current PPP administration unfortunately has reduced the annual subvention to 30 million dollars which has strangled the Municipality. Additionally, the Local Government Commission continues to move slothfully and stymie the work of the Council.  

Mayor Narine stated that he hoped this demonstration will help to thaw the ice that exists between the Government and the Municipality and promote greater collaboration to truly realize “One Guyana” regardless of political affiliation, race or gender. 

Mayor Narine welcomes meeting with Prime Minister Phillips

City Hall, Georgetown |His Worship Pt Ubraj Narine led a delegation including Deputy Mayor Alfred Mentore, Town Clerk (ag) Candace Nelson, Deputy City Engineer (ag) Kenson Boston and Assistant City Engineer (ag) Kabila Hollingsworth to engage with Prime Minister Brig (r’td) Mark Phillips at the Office of the Prime Minister this morning. 

His Worship indicated that the Municipality Is not without its challenges it continues to work to the best of its ability. The Mayor noted that the engineers of the Council enjoy a good working relationship with their counterparts at NDIA and this relationship is commendable. He stated that this type of relationship should exist between the Municipality and the Central Government but there seems to be a deliberate decision not to engage the Municipality.

Mayor Narine stated that following the meeting with the PM there will be a follow up with the Engineers and the Town Clerk to again stress the need to ensure robust monitoring. His Worship however stated that this issue goes back to the Local Government Commission which has failed to act on the decision of the Council on the matter of the City Engineer. He stated that the Council has its hands tied and is unable to discipline officers for failure to perform their duties due to the imposition of the LGC. The Council continues to challenge this. 

Deputy Mayor Alfred Mentore stated that a matter of concern from the Council is the apparent external influence of its officers who are sometimes called and given instructions counter to the decisions of the Council and without the knowledge of the Council. This coupled with the Council’s inability to discipline officers has resulted in a precarious situation. 

His Worship Pt Ubraj Narine requested that the Prime Minister exercise some influence to rectify this situation whether at the parliamentary level or the Ministerial level. 

IN THE NEWS – Deputy Mayor Mentore congratulates Imlach, Motie, Chanderpaul on selections

The Deputy Mayor of Georgetown Alfred Mentore last night sent out congratulations to national cricketer Tevin Imlach on his selection to the Cricket West Indies’ President’s XI squad which is set to play Bangladesh next week.

 Mentore, a former Guyana U19 opening batsman, also congratulated Gudakesh Motie on his test call up and on Tagenarine Chanderpaul on being named among the first test reserve players.

Read more https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/06/09/sports/deputy-mayor-mentore-congratulates-imlach-motie-chanderpaul-on-selections/

56th Independence Day message from His Worship Pt Ubraj Narine, Mayor of the City of Georgetown.

Dear Guyanese, as we recognise the long and hard path of independence I am buoyed by the dreams and aspirations of those who came before us.

The architects of Guyana’s independence took bold steps to break the shackles of colonial rule and fight for the right to self-determination.

Over five decades later we still have the opportunity to realise the vision of our forefathers, to forge one nation out of many people.

The environment of compromise and communication must be opened for all Guyanese to be a part of building this beautiful nation.

We must take bold steps to deliberately involve all sections of our society as we unify our country and strengthen the bonds of friendship and camaraderie.

Happy Independence Anniversary Guyana.

STATUTORY MEETING – TODAY

Please be advised that The Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown will conduct their statutory meeting on

Monday 23 rd May, 2022 at 14:00 hours in the upper flat of the Kitty Market.

Please expect traffic delays in this area during this period.

Rainy Season is here – BE PREPARED!

The Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown continue in their efforts to reduce the impact of flooding in the City. The administration continues to work diligently as the engineers ensure our pumps and kokers are in working order. The City and NDIA have partnered to assist in drainage and irrigation. 

Do your part, report littering, safeguard your property from flooding and be careful on the roadways.

Be Safe! 

Mayor of Georgetown elected to Sub-Council of the Maritime Cooperation Committee

His Worship Pt Ubraj Narine this morning was elected to serve on the sub-council of the 21stCentury Maritime Cooperation Committee. 

Mayor Narine was elected while attending the virtual forum and will serve a term of 7 years. His Worship expressed gratitude to the committee for its consideration and pledged his continued advocacy. 

Please see his remarks below:

Thank you esteemed members of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Fuzhou Municipal People’s Government. 

Georgetown like Fuzhou is a port city and provides a critical link between the hinterland, mountainous areas and the coastline. It is the economic centre and hub for international trade. 

Georgetown is also the capital city of Guyana and as such is the seat of Government. It functions as the administrative centre of our society and economy. 

Climate change represents a significant challenge to cities like ours especially the threat of rising sea levels. Historically our drainage and irrigation system was established from the plantation system with kokers and sluices, however as time and population increase these structures have become overwhelmed by the increased economic and transportation activity. This is more challenged by the fact that Georgetown lies below sea level. 

It is because of these threats that the Municipality and its Councillors agree that we must implement smart solutions to ensure the city is able to deal with these challenges to reduce the impacts of climate change. 

Initiatives such as remote monitoring and activation of mechanical pumps to assist kokers during periods of high rainfall,  using drone technology to monitor the impact of population on drainage and provide data on population growth to assist the Council to provide efficient services of waste disposal, the use of electronic payment methods to assist residents and business in paying their taxes to ensure that the services of the Council are properly funded and finally, contributing to the national data strategy to register properties and ensure that they are correctly valued and zoned. 

Our recent oil and gas discovery has already impacted the infrastructure of our city, with its colonial landscape changing daily with many high-rise structures and a notable increase in traffic on our roadways. We must therefore embrace technological solutions to ensure that our citizens enjoy a good life and our business community benefit from safe, efficient services to promote their expansion and development.  

As Mayor of the City of Georgetown, I support the Smart Ocean forum and welcome partnerships as we work together to build a world driven by data.