Life in Guyana can be a series of puzzlements or strange behaviours that often remain unexplained, or not attended to, sometimes for years after they emerge. A prime example is the construction work by the American Embassy which has been going on for what seems like a year now, on Young Street. The area in front of the embassy is barricaded on three sides, perhaps with safety concerns for persons or vehicles passing, which is commendable when one considers other construction sites in Guyana, but information on details of the project are, to say the least scant. No one I spoke with, and I spoke with several, knows exactly what the Yanks are up to behind the barricades. In a similar scenario in the developed world there would be a massive public awareness campaign including ads in the newspapers, spot announcements on the radio, and a huge “We Apologize” billboard at each end of the street, explaining what is going on, in easy-to-read, full-colour treatments. Citizens would stop and take pictures of the billboards, and it would be all over social media. Potted plants would be spaced out to brighten the site. In Georgetown, we see none of that. Young Street is narrowed by the barricades on the south side, and to top it off there is a barrier at the western end of the road which, in effect, turns it into a one-way in the daytime, courtesy of the American Embassy.
The construction process in front of the embassy comes with a solid barrier, 8 feet high, curved at the two ends, so that even as you drive right past the operation you cannot get even a glimpse of what they are actually creating within. Overseas, such barriers would have a number of viewing windows; here the blackout is total. Perhaps our American friends are constructing an underground tunnel to whisk travellers directly to Miami saving us from having to deal with Dynamic Airlines or Travel Span; perhaps it’s an outdoor running track for embassy staff. Or maybe it’s actually some top-secret CIA operation which puts the entire project in the ‘classified’ category. If the latter, I am currently reading Sonny Ramphal’s engaging book, Glimpses of a Global Life, in which he relates instances of sometimes eventually gaining access to material previously held in the classified category. Perhaps we should turn Sonny loose on the mission to decipher what’s going on. America is not forthcoming.
Staying with the subject of exteriors, another interesting one is the area on Vlissengen Road where the concrete walls at the front of the zoo catch your eye as you go by. On the parapet to the north, a luxurious growth of grass, about four feet high, has been allowed to flourish almost covering up the paintings on the wall featuring the toucan and the manatee. One would have to assume that the manatee may be pleased to see the grass, but the toucan may well be concerned. “Why is all this grass here? Why can’t we have some potted plants? What’s going on, people?”
Practically across the road from the zoo, one is reminded of the delay in the announcement regarding the conclusions from the government investigation of NCN following the news about suspected fraud on Homestretch Avenue. Shortly after the news broke, we were assured the results would be “soon” forthcoming, and a few months after that, the “soon” promise was again delivered. Many months later, and with at least one more “soon” intervening, we still don’t know, and it would seem that the media houses have grown weary of putting the question, sparing us the irritation of any more “soons”, but leaving us still in the dark.
What’s behind the stagnant development picture of upper Water Street? There are a number of vacant lots, particularly on the eastern side, which have been sitting there empty for ages with no sign of life except itinerant grass. One would think that demand would be high for these properties, but nothing seems to be happening. Are the land prices set artificially high in that area of town? Why is there so much building activity in other parts of the city, but upper Water Street remains in the doldrums? What’s going on there?
Newcomers to Guyana are often bewildered to be driving down a prime residential road and having to manoeuvre around a load of sand or gravel dumped in the roadway to be used on adjacent construction work. Some weeks ago, in the sedate community of Subryanville, I encountered, for the first time, a load of clay, some 6 feet high, completing blocking one of the roads running east to Sheriff Street; there was no room to manoeuvre around. After surveying the situation for a few seconds, I took the only way out: I reversed, did a U turn, and found another route to Sheriff. But it did occur to me: aren’t there Planning Department regulations to control such irregularities?
In the middle of last year, we woke to the shocking news that the Umana Yana, a Georgetown landmark with historical value, had burnt flat during the night. Amid the copious lamentations that followed, one was heartened to hear that Amerindians who worked on the original structure were being engaged by government to rebuild an exact replica of the structure. Many months later, not even a spade has been turned on the location, and the Amerindian craftsmen are still in the interior. One Georgetown theory is that the rebuilding has run aground on the contention that the restored structure would block the view of the new Marriott from Kingston. Is that seriously what is going on?
One final example has to do with a recent Stabroek News photograph showing a spread of garbage on the sidewalk opposite a government ministry office. Don’t the folks in the ministry know the number at City Hall to phone and get the problem fixed? Or is it that GT&T has disconnected the phone at City Hall for non-payment? Whatever it is, will somebody please step forth and let us know what’s going on?
