Gov’t gives City Council $30M to complete admin. building

The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) received its $30 million subvention from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development on Thursday to be used for the completion of an administrative building in the compound of City Hall.

The cheque was presented to Councillor of the M&CC and Chairman of the Council’s Finance Committee, Oscar Clarke, at a handing over ceremony at the ministry’s main office in Kingston, Georgetown. Clarke received the cheque in the absence of Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine.

“That admin building started in 2019 and we were hoping to have that building completed before the end of this year because, at the moment, City Hall is really falling apart,” Clarke said on Thursday.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, related that in 2019, a sum of $65 million was provided to the M&CC for the commencement of construction of this building.

Aside from the construction of this building, Minister Dharamlall said that the restoration of the City Hall, a historic building, is on the “front burner” for the government. The government has already earmarked $100 million for this restoration.

It is expected that the staff of the City Council, who have been working in the dilapidated City Hall, will be accommodated in the administrative building while those restoration works commence.

“Government is committed to the development of Georgetown. We continue to work for the upliftment of the city,” the minister said too, adding that efforts will be made to improve drainage and irrigation and infrastructure across Georgetown.