A move by the city administration to “revitalize and upgrade” the Promenade Gardens has generated confusion among members of the City Council and Republic Bank Limited (RBL), the latter having been responsible for the upkeep of the space for almost a decade.
After more than a century of existence the gardens had been in a state of disrepair for years owing to the city’s inability to maintain it. In 2006, RBL in collaboration with the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) conducted major rehabilitation of the gardens, and has continued to maintain the space.
On Tuesday, the M&CC issued a press release which stated that it “has embarked upon a special plan to upgrade and enhance the beauty of this national treasure. This includes the re-painting of the fence, general repairs and refurbishing of the bandstand, the resurfacing of the walkways and footpaths and redoing of the landscape.” However, these plans were not communicated to either Republic Bank or the members of the City Council.
RBL Communication and Public Relations Officer Jonelle Dummett told Stabroek News that the bank had not been contacted by City Hall about its intention to retake the responsibility of overseeing the upkeep of the gardens. She noted that RBL is still involved in the upkeep of the Promenade Gardens.
“We provide monthly maintenance of flora and fauna within the gardens. The Promenade Gardens was the pilot project in the first phase of our ‘Power to Make a Difference Initiative,’” she said, adding that RBL had “brought back the entire gardens, which had become dilapidated in the 90s. RBL provided sponsorship for the restoration/rehabilitation of the Promenade Gardens and continues to pay a landscaper to maintain it monthly.”
When contacted for a comment on the future of RBL’s relationship with the gardens, Town Clerk Royston King was unable to definitively say whether the partnership with the company and the M&CC would still be operational. He also would not comment on whether RBL had been contacted about possibly undertaking the identified works.
Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green when approached by this newspaper for a comment displayed surprise at the contents of the press release.
Another councillor indignantly exclaimed that this is the latest in a serious of decisions taken by the Town Clerk without first consulting the council. He noted that this decision appears to be in a similar vein to a recent one by King to demolish two concrete walls constructed on a section of the Merriman Mall by the Pan-African Movement.
Last Saturday, King supervised the demolition charging that the space was being kept in a nasty condition and that a decision had been taken to turn the space into an open air park for the children and elderly.
The Promenade Gardens, which were completed in 1853 stand on a section of Parade Ground. It was at Parade Ground that slaves convicted of being involved in the 1823 East Coast rebellion were hanged. In August 1851, the Town Council made a decision to create a public promenade on the Parade Ground once funding could be obtained.
