Latest update June 25th, 2026 9:38 AM
The Georgetown clocks are now heading south
By Rustom Seegopaul
The Stabroek Market clock is one of Guyana’s best known clocks, but it has not been working for some time now.
Though many persons may have forgotten their presence, there are quite a few clocks across Georgetown looking down on the city from their towers, their days of calibrating the day into hours, minutes and seconds long gone, as they now no longer work and just silently watch the city grow and develop over the years.
These clocks represent a piece of Guyana’s history, and bear witness to the past of the nation. These timepieces, as ironic as it may sound, are slowly being lost to time. Probably the most famous and most remembered of these timepieces is the clock at the Stabroek Market.
At present, this clock is not working, despite repeated repairs over recent years. The Stabroek Market clock fell into a state of disrepair, with some of the gears in the clock becoming worn down and chipped after decades of use.
These gears were repaired and some replaced by the Smithsonian Institute, and the clock began to function for some time, but then stopped working once again. The hands of the clock have also been replaced.
Similarly, the clock that adorns the tower at the Bourda Market has also fallen into a state of disrepair and has long stopped working. Many persons are not even aware that the Bourda Market has a clock.
The Kitty Market is itself almost falling apart, and in like fashion, so is the clock there. Joining the lot is the clock at the Albouystown Market.
Many people have become so accustomed to these clocks being there they have forgotten their existence. There is the clock which adorns the New Building Society (NBS) building on the Avenue of the Republic.
While this clock is nowhere as old as its predecessors, having been put up just a few years ago, this clock tells the right time and is often a landmark for persons driving to work in Georgetown. They are able to determine how late they will arrive at work.
A source within the Mayor and City Council (MCC) explained that rehabilitation of these clocks is pending. There has been some trouble with the lack of funds.
Many of the residents of Georgetown have said that they would very much like to see all of these clocks working again. “I had hoped they would have all been rehabilitated for Carifesta,” explained one woman.
Her thoughts have been echoed by many other persons.
This not only applies to these clocks, but to Guyana’s architecture as a whole. “Georgetown is a beautiful city,” a New York-based Guyanese said, “but it is becoming rundown.”
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