Umana Yana handed over to Culture Ministry

Jul 15, 2016 News

Minister Nicolette Henry (third from right) receiving a drawing of the Umana Yana from Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson

The Umana Yana has been rebuilt and was officially handed over to the Minister within the Ministry of Education with responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport Nicolette Henry, yesterday afternoon.
Present at the simple ceremony were a number of government officials, including the Minister of Indigenous Affairs Sydney Allicock; Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs Valerie Garrido-Lowe, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson and Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson.
Also present were members of the Wai-Wai tribe who were involved in the physical construction of the historic Benab. The new building boasts new features, such as a modernized electrical system, a raised floor, new interior lighting and greater seating accommodation.
The Ministry of Public Infrastructure financed the project, while the work was supervised by the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs.
According to Minister Patterson, the building materials had been sourced and prepared by members of the Wai-Wai tribe. The materials were obtained from the villages of Santa Mission, St. Cuthbert’s Mission and Moraikobai.
Bush rope was primarily used with a small amount of nails to secure the attachments at different points of the building. The now completed structure occupies a total of 240 square feet and stands 60 feet tall.
Patterson said that early next month, the meeting place will be equipped with a solar power generation system. He relayed that with the purchase of the solar system, the total cost for the reconstruction of the heritage site will amount to $106 million.
According to Minister Henry, the building has a major cultural significance to Guyana, particularly in the City of Georgetown. She said that it is even more important, since it was built by the nation’s first people.
Henry said that the country is “happy to have it back within the host of buildings which the state has responsibility for”. It is expected that an event will be held tonight at the Umana Yana in the form of a cultural show for participants of the Hague Conference currently being held in Guyana.
The Umana Yana was first built in 1972 to cater for the Non-Aligned Conference. Since then the building has been refurbished twice. On September 9, 2014, the building was destroyed by a mysterious fire. It was later reported that it was electrical in origin. The rebuilding process officially began last February.

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