An alternative site will have to be found for the Cubana disaster monument, as the current spot at the junction of Camp and Lamaha streets is not suitable, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn said yesterday.
Meanwhile work at the site remains at a standstill as a decision is awaited.
Benn told Stabroek News that the ministry’s position is that because of the design and style of the monument it cannot remain at its present location; hence an alternative site must be found. He said that a meeting was held with the National Parks Commission, the Cuban Ambassador to Guyana Pedro Artega and sponsors of the project and the some recommendations were made. Potential sites are the Botanical Gardens, the University of Guyana or the National Park but it is yet to be decided.
When contacted for a comment yesterday afternoon Mayor Hamilton Green said that he does not see why relocation is necessary. The mayor said that he heard that the matter will be discussed at cabinet level and is hoping for a “peaceful and satisfactory resolution.” Green said that the Council had written to the Minister of Local Government for an urgent meeting to discuss the issue but has received no reply as of yesterday afternoon.
In the meantime Benn said that if the monument were to be erected at the present location it will be an impediment at the busy intersection where there is traffic on two major roadways – Camp and Lamaha streets. He said that the monument will attract sightseers and other curious people and the intersection is not the best place for that. Benn said that according to the proposal submitted by City Hall the monument is 20 feet wide at its base and some 16 feet wide at the top.
The minister said that Public Works recently erected a pedestrian walkway to the east of the intersection to ease pedestrian congestion on the road itself and to construct the monument there will be facilitating the same situation that the ministry was trying to avoid by constructing the walkway.
Meanwhile a GINA press release said that Minister of Local Government Kellawan Lall has said that the present site is not the best one for the construction since the monument is very significant.
Construction work on the monument to honour the Guyanese victims of the 1976 Cubana Air disaster was halted last Tuesday afternoon by Minister Benn, much to the displeasure of Mayor Green, who accused the minister of interfering in a matter that was outside of his jurisdiction and called him a “bully”. Benn had explained that the construction was only stopped because as the minister in charge he was unaware of the specific dimensions of the structure.
Green had also said that a sign had been erected 18 months ago identifying the land as the site for the building of the monument. He said that in 2006, then Minister of Foreign Affairs Rudy Insanally was present at the commissioning of the site as the venue for the monument and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, performing the functions of President, had participated in a memorial event at the same site last year.
Benn had also said that once the dimensions of the construction are reviewed and approved the contractors will be allowed to continue working on their project. He had said that the main concern was whether the construction would impede traffic and cause other complications, particularly since that area had recently undergone rehabilitation work. (Melissa Charles)
