Dear Editor,
On February 23 I took some time out from my Mashramani revelry to pay a visit to the Sevens Ponds (Place of Heroes) in the Botanical Gardens. As I approached the entrance I was greeted with about six garbage bins overflowing with garbage, I was stunned because I thought since it was our Republic Day and hundreds of people were expected to be visiting the gardens that a special effort would have been made to have the garbage removed, but of course this was not done. Questions began to flow through my mind, and one of them was, why was the entrance to the Seven Ponds chosen to accumulate garbage when there are numerous isolated spots in the gardens where garbage could have been stored pending removal?
Now the Seven Ponds is the home of the remains of five distinguished Guyanese leaders and heroes including three former presidents, our first Guyanese governor general and one of our national poets, Martin Carter. I would have expected that this area in the Botanical Gardens would have been treated with much respect. As if the garbage was not enough I stared in horror at the area around the tombs of our national heroes; the grass seems to have not been cut in a very long time, tall grass surrounded the tombs, the tombs themselves were in need of a coat of paint and the writing on the tombstones was not visible. The tomb of former President Arthur Chung was almost completely covered with grass.
I tried to walk around the Seven Ponds but could not do so because the walkway around the ponds was flooded with water on a bright sunny day. Even though dozens of families were picnicking in and around the Mausoleum of former President Forbes Burnham one could see that this national monument was in need of a facelift.
Mr Burnham’s final resting place is in need of repainting; the roof needs repairing and the marble tiles need cleaning and polishing. I wish to remind the administration that Seven Ponds is a national asset and it must be maintained by the state. It is indeed a national disgrace when we neglect our national monuments; as a people we must slow respect to our fallen heroes.
Much more can be done to enhance the Seven Ponds other than keeping it clean and maintaining the structures. Perhaps a museum and information office could be built around the area so that our visitors and schoolchildren could go to see some photographs and gifts given to our former leaders. The information desk should be able to give vital information on the national heroes buried there.
A very important thing missing there is a flagpole with the flag of Guyana flying proudly.
Yours faithfully,
Clive Fredericks
