City Mayor, Alfred Mentore, has instructed the city engineers to halt the construction of several structures being erected by the Government at Parade Ground – the site of the 1823 Demerara Revolt Memorial.

The Government, through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, is reportedly erecting two pavilions and a washroom facility on Parade Ground, near the site of the 1823 Demerara Revolt Memorial.

The Coalition for the 1823 Monument has condemned the project, accusing the Government of desecrating a sacred ground.

Today, the City Mayor joined in that condemnation.

Joined by former Prime Minister of Guyana and Mayor of Georgetown, Hamilton Green, Deputy Mayor Denise Miller, City Councilor Lelon Saul and members of the Coalition for the 1823 Monuments at the site, the City Mayor told reporters that having learned of the project, he reached out to the Minister of Culture, Charles Ramson Jr., but is still to receive a response.

In the absence of a response, Mayor Mentore has instructed the city engineers to halt the project, as he too expressed concern over the desecration of the ground.

 “We have spoken to our engineers to treat with this matter, and to halt the work,” he said.

He said though responsible for Parade Ground, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council was not consulted by the Culture, Youth and Sports Ministry before the initiation of the project.

Mayor Mentore said in any case, the Council would not have granted permission for any structure to be erected on the ground.

“I might be tempted to drive one of the Council’s excavators in this place and knock down this thing. I might be tempted to do that,” he said.

The City Mayor said Guyanese are fed up of the disrespect, and the Council will not tolerate such disrespect.

“People are fed up with this aggression. People are fed up with the interference. People are fed up with the micro management and the way this government has been operating. They are doing things like if they have some two-thirds majority,” he said.

Railing into the Government, the Deputy Mayor said while the Government boasts of inclusivity, it continues to act unilaterally, disregarding all other institutions and elected organs such as the council.

“It is not that we don’t want development but you do development in tandem with the Mayor and City Council who controls the city, and that hasn’t been happening for the longest while. I am peeved, I am hurt, and I feel disrespected as a person of African descent,” she said.

Miller explained that the memorial site is also a place of worship for African groups.

The 1823 Demerara uprising was the largest slave rebellion recorded in Guyana’s history, spanning from 1823 to 1824. In the end, 51 slaves were sentenced to death and 31 were executed on the gallows located on Parade Ground.

Flipping back pages of history, former Prime Minister Hamilton Green said the slaves were beheaded at parade ground.

“They were rounded up, their heads cut off, and put on poles, their blood bleeding on this ground, and as the descendants of those slaves, we have a duty to preserve it as sacred ground to honour our ancestors,” the former City Mayor said.

President of the Coalition for the 1823 Monuments, Sister Penda Guyan, who raised the issue recently, said the coalition may have to take legal actions if the government persists with the project.

Related posts:

African Group protest over Culture Ministry plans to erect pavilions and other structures on Parade Ground City Mayor upset over non-consultation by Government on major city works City Council will respect and abide by Government’s parking meter decision -Mayor Chase-Green Government to build 1823 Memorial at Parade Ground