Guyana can swing from presidential dreams of beautification to the realization that some pigs on the farm are decidedly more equal than others, all in one day.
On the one hand we have His Excellency who stated his revival plans for Georgetown on 16 September 2025. A total of 15 flagship projects to “include the development of recreational spaces”. And on the other hand, we have His Worship, The Mayor of Georgetown, who is advocating for an individual not prima facie legally connected to Mae’s Schools to be allowed to use exclusively 10 of the 24 house lots which make up Farnum’s Playing Field, a community open recreational space.
Farnum’s as it is popularly called in Subryanville is a recreational space used by mainly footballers from Kitty, Campbellville and south Georgetown. It is only a temporary arrangement for Mae’s Schools is the ruse to possibly grab some prime real estate from His Excellency’s plans for recreational space. The September 2025 application by the developer of the prefab structures in Farnum’s Playing Field is being allowed to regularize his illegality. Despite repeated visits since first requested at end August 2025 of the Mayor, Town Clerk & City Engineer’s Offices to obtain public documents nothing has been received to date.
The original permit for usage of the temporary tents was up to March 2026. The Mayor & councilors along with the Town Clerk & City Engineer are advocating for an extension of time to December 2026 or March 2027 . This is the proposed timeframe to be inserted in the document being prepared for presentation on Wednesday 17 September 2025. The residents of Subryanville vehemently oppose this. Already temporary is indicating that it has a potential towards permanency. And the proposed timeframe will most likely be extended repeatedly; as we all know construction rarely finishes in time. How many times the extensions will be permitted only the future knows. And only M&CC whose composition may be changed in Municipal elections next year has this power. There is the real danger that after the requisite time a different type of application may be made by the developer or others!
Another pawn used to justify this high jacking of public recreational space for the benefit of a private for-profit business is “the kids & their education “. The current issue is not whether Mae’s Schools should rebuild in Subryanville but it’s about a whether a private for-profit business should be given exclusively usage of public recreational space. This is where the equality tilts and some fee-paying students are treated differently to others who kick ball or walk dog or chill out.
It is astonishing that a school which charges fees in the range of $85,000 per student per term would need to rely on the largesse of the M&CC. Does this have anything to do with the value of the prime real estate on which it is temporarily being housed. As they say possession is 9/10 of the law.
Or is there something else at play? What is obvious is His Excellency’s vision of creating recreational spaces is not in alignment with that of M&CC which is taking away recreational space from the public to benefit a few high fees paying students.
As is often said quite casually, this is Guyana!
Your sincerely
Elizabeth Deane-Hughes
