From sports facilities to improved drainage, President leads efforts to transform Tiger Bay & Kingston 

Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali wants to transform Georgetown and the Tiger Bay/ Kingston area is first up in his plans for the capital city.

On Sunday morning, the President went to Tiger Bay with a team of government officials and business owners from the community to engage residents. In between ‘gyaffs’, domino games, and preparing Cook-Up, the President highlighted forthcoming plans to transform the community.

“Mr Mattai [owner of the Mattai’s Supermarket] has given us the use of three plots of land…. Next week, we will start converting that to a Futsal and Basketball facility with night lights,” President Ali told the residents.

The President said Calvin Ming, another businessman in the area, will be leading a pilot project to vastly improve the community’s drainage network. School of the Nations, which is also located in the Tiger Bay/ Kingston area, will be working alongside the government to roll out a new training programme for residents.

President Ali said he wants these efforts to uplift the community and its residents.

“We have to remove a big stigma from the area, and we are going to remove it,” Dr. Ali said.

Beyond these initiatives, the President said wider beautification efforts will unfold as the government aims to make this north Georgetown area a tourism hotspot. He said from the seawalls at Kingston to Avenue of the Republic and the Botanical Gardens, a “walking tourism lane” will be developed. There will also be at least one new restaurant, bars and craft shops.

The success of that venture, he acknowledged, depends on the residents here. He urged them to become wardens of the community, ensuring that it is safe for all.