Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn has said that although his ministry had last year engaged itself in some restoration work at Le Repentir Cemetery, maintenance is not its responsibility.
“There are some issues which we saw there and some time ago we visited the area to address those issues of change,” the minister told Stabroek News on Wednesday.
He explained that the ministry spent $15 million to clear thick vegetation from the city cemetery, transforming it to a state that was acceptable to the public eye and the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) should have been able to handle it from thereon.
Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Green had said in June 2011 that while he was not a member of the Cemetery Restoration Committee, canals would need to be redone; tombs rebuilt and even some replanting for restoration to be completed.
When contacted on Tuesday, Chairman of the Public Health and Markets Committee Ranwell Jordan told Stabroek News that although the cemetery falls under the committee, the M&CC has not engaged in discussions about the cemetery for some time.
“The government had injected millions into a project there after citizens contacted the ministry and minister himself and they did some work there like clearing some vegetation,” he said, adding that the council received no report on that operation.
Jordan added that there has been no plan for maintenance since that work was executed, calling it a total waste of money. “There was no proper plan put in place, so it gone back to the way it was. There are no plans to do rehabilitation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Benn maintained that the cemetery is not the responsibility of the Public Works Ministry but rather the M&CC. “I do not know why the council is trying to foist off its responsibilities on the ministry,” Benn said in reference to the comments made by Jordan.
