Dear Editor,
Early on Saturday morning a lady, who described herself as a resident of Kingston for many years, called me. She was clearly very upset, because as she put it, the Mayor was presiding over the destruction of our capital city. Further, how we could talk about tourism when the charming landscape of Georgetown was being slowly obliterated.
She referred to the noise nuisance and a massive concrete ‘box’ going up next to her hitherto peaceful place of abode.
She is justified, but how much can the Mayor and City Council do in the present environment, where certain decision-makers, simply put, are cultural barbarians and environmental vampires, who sacrifice at the altar of big business and friends.
First, the agency responsible for determining land use in Georgetown and the (use of new buildings) is not the Mayor and City Council, but the Central Housing and Planning Authority, which falls within the purview of the Ministry of Housing. More often than not they ignore our expressed concerns. So today, without rhyme or reason, quiet and attractive residential areas are being spoilt – even heritage sites are being compromised.
Second, more than a decade ago, Professor Khan and subsequently other town planners produced a plan to bring order to the city – The Georgetown Development Plan 2000-2010. The idea was to preserve Georgetown’s uniqueness and charm while making the capital more functional and orderly. In spite of the fact that the Cabinet accepted this plan, and in spite of my pleadings, no action has been taken to implement the recommendation save the city, except ad hoc activity and bullyism. Today one may ask as the lady who called did, where can we find now a truly residential area?
Thirdly, for the benefit of all good citizens, editors, the opposition, the religious groups, and our youths, could we get a response from the powers that be? Or is this part of a studied plan to besmirch the ‘character’ of the city for petty political purposes? Decent PPP supporters who understand the importance of having a well-planned city should speak up; at the end of the day, all of our children will condemn us if we remain silent.
People must arise from their slumber.
What has happened to the great work done by Dr Ron Van Oers and one of our enduring icons, Ms Carmen Jarvis, who together tried valiantly to offer Georgetown as a heritage site. Both Port of Spain and Havana are now ahead of us; they are restoring all old beautiful buildings, while we are not only failing to maintain ours, but we are replacing some with sheer ugliness. Here a former Brazilian Ambassador must be remembered for restoring the ambassador’s residence in Queenstown some years ago
Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green
Mayor