The Ministry of Public Infrastructure is seeking an injunction to stop ongoing construction at Celina’s Atlantic resort after several cease orders were ignored over the past months.
Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson told Stabroek News yesterday that the ministry is seeking assistance from the Attorney General’s Chambers. He said that the Ministry applied to the courts for an injunction on November 5 and is hoping it will be granted one shortly which will assist in stopping ongoing construction which has not been approved by the Sea Defence Board.
Stabroek News has in recent weeks reported on unpermitted construction and the parking of heavy vehicles and several containers on the landward side of the Kitty entertainment spot which could undermine the sea defence. After the issue was highlighted by Stabroek News, a cease order was issued by the ministry to Celina’s Managing Director Bernard Yhun to stop all operations. Yhun then sent a proposal to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure for construction in the area. While this was under review work was still going on. It was seen and photographed by Stabroek News. The construction included the cutting of courida plants and shrubs which provided a buffer to the sea defence. After Stabroek News had brought the matter to the attention of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure it was disclosed last week that a cease order had been issued for all construction to be stopped until the construction proposal had been fully reviewed. While the construction area was quiet and it had seemed as if the work had stopped, over the past few days a bulldozer was seen levelling the land and men were around the resort doing minor construction.
The discussion on whether the resort is a threat to the sea defence in the area has been an ongoing one over the years. Various environmentalists and sea defence experts have injected their opinions on the matter with the most recent being Malcolm Alli.
Alli restated earlier concerns in a letter to Stabroek News. He said that when the resort was first proposed he had written a letter that the structure was in defiance of the Sea Defence Act and from what he understood, former President Bharrat Jagdeo had given permission to the proprietor to continue with the construction.
He further stated that in the 1960s when he was the engineer in charge of the sea defences he was monitoring the area and knew that severe erosion was imminent. After approximately 1000 ft of courida trees disappeared overnight he hurriedly designed and built the first 1000 ft of the new sea wall up to D’Aguiar bend which was continued by Balfour Beatty up to about UG after a British loan was obtained. “A few years later I raised the old Barama and British concrete copings of the Georgetown wall about 2.5ft higher and a new bitumen grouted sea wall was built by local forces under my control when the international bids came in higher above our estimate,” he said in his letter, stating that he thinks the area is very sensitive. He appealed to Minister Patterson to not only stop the new construction but also request that the owners demolish the existing restaurant and dancehall that he said was built illegally and that all damage to the existing sea defences should be repaired at the owners’ cost.
Charles Sohan also highlighted, in a letter, that according to the Sea Defence Ordinance, a chapter in the Laws of Guyana clearly states that it is an offence to build any structure and/or cut down trees on the sea defence and its reserve which is where the resort’s facilities are located, without prior written authority from the Sea Defence Board (SBD).
“It is evident there that CAR (Celina’s Atlantic Resort) has been breaching the laws of Guyana with impunity unless it had received permission from the Sea Defence Board to do so but to date no such permission has been recorded in the Minutes of the Meetings of the SBD,” he noted, stating that it would be in the interest of good governance that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure take immediate steps to curb the “lawless act by CAR since their action can have adverse consequences on the welfare of people living in the Kitty and surrounding areas”.
