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Deteriorating Kitty Market lands City Engineer in ‘hot water’
Kaieteur News- The Kitty Market is already deteriorating despite undergoing a series of rehabilitative works which started nine years ago.
City Mayor Alfred Mentore during, a statutory meeting of the Georgetown Council on Tuesday raised concerns about the condition of the market, which is yet to be completed.
A section of the ceiling in the Kitty Market
The mayor requested an update from the City Engineer’s Department on why the work on the market has been stalled. City Engineer Colvern Venture was present at Tuesday’s statutory meeting. He indicated that an assessment of the market will be done and a report provided to the Council, thereafter.
“I am learning of some issues that the market is deteriorating and how are we now hearing of this….” Mentore said noting that an assessment by the General Works Manager is warranted since he is the person supervising the work.
He ordered the officer to provide an on-the-spot assessment of the deterioration and work yet to be completed.
The Kitty Market has undergone on-and-off rehabilitative works for the past nine years.
However, Councillor Troy Garraway took an issue to the mayor’s decision. He noted that the City Engineer should have been able to look at the condition of the market and give the council an estimated time to complete the work.
“The Kitty Market should have been open since October or September last year. We are entering March month of 2025 and still the market is not ready for open. Something is wrong. Somebody’s taking us for a ride and I would like to have some answers from the engineer’s department,” Councillor Garraway declared.
Garraway said instead of pressuring the General Works Officer, it is Venture who needs to be held accountable.
“We are asking the wrong person to answer to this council. Where is the engineer that came two times for monies to complete works? The engineer is the one that gave the estimate which was voted for by the council and still the market is not going or coming… the person that should be made to answer is the city engineer,” the Councilor stated.
Notwithstanding Garraway’s position, the General Works Manager told the council that “we are doing repairs. We notice that other parts of the ceiling have gone bad…”
City Hall has been on a push for a February month-end deadline after nine years of on-and-off rehabilitation and Mayor Mentor had said that all steps are being taken to ensure the market is operational.
The restoration project, which started in February 2016 under then-town clerk Royston King, was expected to last nine months.
The total allocation for the project stands at $240 million, with funds injected throughout the years to bring the market closer to completion.
(Deteriorating Kitty Market lands City Engineer in ‘hot water’)
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