The 12 awardees were acknowledged for their efforts which in one way or another have contributed to the heritage sector and preservation initiative over the years.
Monetary donations in excess of $1 million were also handed out by the Trust for the refurbishing of the eastern wall of the St George’s Cathe-dral and the maintenance of the Providence Mandir.
Dr Denis Williams (post-humous), Lennox Hernandez, Christobel Hughes and Dr James Rose received awards for ‘most outstanding professional contribution’. Carmen Jarvis was awarded for ‘outstanding contribution to world heritage’. The Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Diocese of Guyana received awards for ‘outstanding contribution residential conservation’.
The Providence Mandir was awarded for its work in the area of non-residential conservation, while the New Building Society Limited was given the award for the preservation of a national monument.
Rodrigues Architects Limited was awarded the professional contribution to heritage practices ward for its work in the conservation standards for development works on historic sites and the preservation of Guyana’s built heritage.
Completing the list of awardees were the Roraima Group of Companies and Cara Hotels who were recognised for their work in the conservation and adaptive reuse of Guyana’s wooden built heritages.
Delivering the feature address, President Donald Ramotar told those in attendance that while improving the quality of life of our people it was very important to also preserve our heritage sites since quality of life was not only measured by economic denominations but by what we have preserve and appreciate.
The President also stated that apart from the known heritage sites in Guyana they are many other beautiful areas. He added “we speak about our mountains, savannahs and all these things that are indeed beautiful, but our coastal areas have some beautiful attractions and Georgetown itself is important in that regard and we need to maintain those on the coast.”
He revealed that Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony has been telling him about the discovery of artifacts that may have belonged to old civilizations in the Berbice River area.
He also said that the Berbice slave uprising, in his view, is not given the importance it deserves even though it triggered other actions against slavery in the Caribbean and thus we need to ensure that our people understand how important that revolution was.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Alfred King said that every year close to $30 million is budgeted to ensure the quality work of the Trust is continued and that work is still ongoing to develop most of the sites to that quality where people can visit them.
He also noted that City Hall is in need of restorative work immediately. But when asked about the plans the ministry has for restoring that building, King responded that power for restoration of the building lies with the National Trust through the Trust Act.
Chairman of the National Trust of Guyana Lennox Hernandez, when asked whether the Trust has any plans to renovate City Hall, said it only becomes the Trust’s responsibility if the Trust takes it over, because it is on the provisional list and not on the National Monuments list, even though it is of great importance. He said if City Hall was gazetted then the Trust will be responsible for its renovation, but that process has to be passed through the National Assem-bly first. However, Hernandez said the Trust has been trying to collaborate with the City Council on the restoration ideas it has.
Chief Executive Officer of the Trust, Nirvana Persaud, said it has been working in collaboration with the council in an effort to do something about the building which is important. But she noted that renovation of City Hall will cost millions.
Hernandez reminded in his address that hard work was necessary to safeguard our monuments. Guyanese have to see historic buildings as resources which can contribute to development, rather than old Colonial junk that has no place in our modern society, he added.
Hernandez also said that the Trust was working to have a portion of Georgetown declared as a heritage site.
The National Trust was established to conserve, preserve and promote the nation’s patrimony so that the present and future generations will have access and enjoy the richness of Guyana’s heritage.
