At the inaugural Municipal Conference 2017, held recently, President David Granger challenged Mayors of the nine local municipalities to transform their municipalities into “commercial hubs”, putting into sharp focus the lack of sustainable development planning that has plagued literally all municipalities in Guyana over the years.
As reported on the Ministry of the Presidency website, Granger posited: “Once the Regional Chairmen, once the Mayors realise what a gem they have on their hands, they realise they have been sitting on their hands. People want to come and see our flora and fauna and they often say the Kanuku Mountains have more species of birds than the whole of Western Europe…that’s what Mayors do, look for business opportunities.”
Indeed, now that the discussion has shifted to the relevant issue of the regeneration of our declining municipalities, it does indeed seem in retrospect as if most, if not all of our Mayors and Regional Chairmen alike, have been sitting on their hands this whole time, deferring all real innovation and development decisions to the central government.
Since the 1990s our municipal markets have been in decline and municipal spending on infrastructure has all but dried up within the last decade. This has resulted in substandard facilities, poor environmental conditions and waste management systems across the municipalities. Consequently, many of our municipal markets have been reduced to decaying, insanitary, and in some instances, unsafe, hubs of commercial retail activity.
Despite the visible signs of decay and neglect, these markets remain a hub of constant economic activity and a source of livelihood for thousands of small farmers and entrepreneurs. They also serve as a kind of extension or projection of rural community life, preserving an intangible essence of traditional retail activity – a throwback anachronism in the midst of a hive of other, more modern commercial activity.
Take, for example, the cobbler’s strip at Stabroek Market accessible from the western gates which open to the wharf area. A faithful few congregate on a small strip plying a dying trade of mending shoes. Passers-by familiar with the strip would often call out to a popular cobbler and move along; an almost daily ritual which embodies the spirit of camaraderie and community that is market life.
In acknowledging a popular cobbler, people would pass through and the words, “Hey Shanie,” would ring out. For decades, ‘Shanie’ and this circle of cobblers, and the hundreds of stallholders across our country have sustained our markets with their small family-owned businesses. The larger establishments have also contributed to the resolution of local unemployment problems.
As part of a post-May 2015 effort to develop the nation’s municipalities, larger and more modern markets are envisioned to draw people to the respective districts and establish centres of commerce. It is what President David Granger referred to as “commercial hubs” when he addressed the inaugural Municipal Conference 2017 last week.
A commercial hub, from an urban planning perspective, refers to a retail space which offers bundled, diversified services and products to a large category of target customers. This kind of enterprise seems, in its best practices, capable of serving various demand clusters with an array of different value propositions: attractions for tourists, shopping venues, consulting services, etc.
The proposed redevelopment of traditional markets has formed part of past local and central government strategies and over the years, rehabilitation projects have been funded to the tune of millions of dollars. The Kitty Market restoration project was pegged at a hefty $240 million but works stalled after the city council’s coffers went dry – the project was being funded solely by the council.
Prior to the Kitty project, six contracts for market infrastructure improvement were signed in 2014 under the $500 million Guyana ‘Clean-up my Country’ project spearheaded by the then Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Restoration works included projects for Bourda, Stabroek and La Penitence markets.
As evidenced by successful public-private partnerships projects in developing countries, retail-led regeneration is an important mechanism to revitalise communities by creating jobs, promoting economic growth, and creating attractions to draw people to an area.
In the United States, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) projects are used for revitalizing central city areas through a structure for initiating business by real-estate owners within the districts. Over in the United Kingdom, there is the Town Centre Management (TCM) through the establishment of Public Private Partnership.
Our local government system which was revived under this government is now being challenged to look at their geographic constituencies as an opportunity for real economic development and not merely from the very basic perspective of the collection of rates and taxes and the provision of rudimentary services like garbage collection.
It can be said that the Georgetown municipality may have taken on this approach already, based on the ambitious parking meter project attempted earlier this year, but this ends up being a poor example as this project was fraught with missteps from its conception up to its ignominious recent suspension.
This strategy to modernize the municipal markets, driving their transformation into “commercial hubs” seems sound, as the markets are the main commercial activity controlled by the municipal authorities. If the creation of these new “commercial hubs” is well planned and executed they can bring in the kind of local and overseas visitors that can lead to a boost of economic activity in the municipal area and bring about increased economic benefits to the municipality and citizens alike.
What might be the real challenge which must not be neglected is the integration of the ‘Shanies’ of our municipal markets into the new “commercial hubs.” Such integration maintains the diversity of small businesses, and preserves the rustic element and the old-fashioned appeal of that segment of municipal markets that might be key tourist attraction features in the new “commercial hubs.”
