The editorial in Sunday Stabroek of October 5 should be studied by every citizen of Georgetown. It deals with the proposed Kingston Hotel and the dangers posed to the Seawall, the Lighthouse, and the other buildings in the area.
Editorials are not usually read by the ordinary citizens such as myself. They are considered as studies for the intellectual. So I am convinced that it would be helpful to all of us to reproduce the text of the first paragraph of the editorial. Here it is:
“Some of the problems of this society would be alleviated if those who sat in government spent more time discussing their plans with various interested groups before steamrolling ahead implementing decisions that the citizens knows little or nothing about. What usually happens is that these decisions are taken in camera, so to speak, and by the time they get into the public domain, they are already a fait accompli, meaning there would be a huge amount of face to lose if the powers-that-be were to reverse them. As it is, therefore, no matter how flawed a given plan might be, it goes ahead in the teeth of the most rational criticism and the most common sense objections.”
The Kingston Hotel is not the only big issue that has reached the final stage without public consultation.
There is the railway embankment clearance that has not even attracted consultation with the City of Georgetown. It was appalling to learn that some residents were being assigned to land that was not yet developed, land overgrown with grass and trees, without water, electricity and telephone.
One resident on the embankment in 1994 paid $8,000 to Central Housing and Planning Authority for a plot of land so that she could have permanent residence on land that she owned. No plot was assigned to her and now the sum of $8,000 has been returned to her with no compound interest and no increase to bring it to today’s value.
The concern of consumers is that the high-powered lines are said to pose a risk to persons dwelling on the embankment. Will they not also pose a risk to persons residing on Lamaha Street?
Apart from that, there has been no information on the future of the embankment. Poles do not need much land. What will happen to the fruit trees and other vegetation? Will the embankment become a haven for bandits? Who is going to police the area?
The sum of $100,000 is being given to all the residents to assist them with the cost of removal. But what about compensation for their fruit trees and vegetables. I have seen a list showing compensation given by the Ministry of Agriculture for trees and plants. Unfortunately the list does not cover coconut and mango trees. Nine green mangoes are now being sold for $500 and here is the list which was taken from a legal document prepared in July 2008:
Cabbage $250 per root
Lettuce $200 per root
Papaw $600 per plant
Pak Choi $200 per root
Orange $4,120
Banana $4,590
Plantain $4,590
Pomegranate $600
The 1996 Constitution of Guyana gave us hope that we would at last be living in a country where people were recognized as humans with voices. Now there is a fear that those who voice opinions that would hamper the wishes of authorities would be victimized. Even their families could be victimized. We should take our copies of the Constitution from our bookshelves and again study the sections that led us to hope for a glimpse of democracy.
