Support from citizens, key to fulfilling National
The National Trust of Guyana manages over 400 gazetted and ungazetted historic sites countrywide and while it is operating with a very small budget and limited staff, Chief Executive Officer Nirvana Persaud believes that support from the public, Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) and Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDCs) could help it to fulfill its mandate.
“We have a large maintenance list that we can hardly keep up with and its growing… it [maintenance] will remain a challenge because we have a provisional list but we also have a monument register of documented things of interest and that includes from commemorative monuments to statues to sites to tombs … that ranges over 400 throughout the country. That gives you an idea of our scope of work and the challenges we have because our staff… here is very small,” Persaud told Sunday Stabroek during a recent interview.
Persaud said that the Trust has a total of 16 staff members, eight of whom are permanent.
According to the Trust’s website, its main responsibility is the “preservation of all monuments in Guyana.” It is stated that under the National Trust Act, the term ‘monument’ includes any building, structure, object or other work of man or of nature whether above or below the surface of the land or the floor of the sea within territorial waters of Guyana and any site, cave or excavation. National Monuments are the vested responsibility of the National Trust and are gazetted as such after approval by Parliament. At present, there are nine gazetted National Monuments.
The mission of the Trust is conserving, preserving and promoting the nation’s patrimony so that the present and future generations will access and enjoy the richness of Guyana’s heritage.
Persaud told Stabroek News that it is the Forts – Fort Zeelandia, Fort Nassau, Fort Kyk-Over-Al and the brick windmill on Hog Island and the commemorative monuments – 1823 and 1763 – that are among the main focuses of the Trust. It was explained that the 1763 monument is gazetted, while the 1823 monument isn’t but because of its historical significance and importance, it automatically falls under the Trust’s control.
According to Persaud, the Trust “contributes” towards to upkeep of a number of other sites. “We maintain sites throughout the country… in terms of having them cleaned, having signage, infrastructure in place,” she said before singling out the Chateau Margot chimney, a tomb behind Grand Coastal Hotel where it is believed the Dutch planter who owned that area is buried, the 1823 monument and the Water Wheel at Linden as being among those being maintained.
She said that the Trust has been trying to “stretch its already limited budget” to assist in the maintenance of other sites countrywide.
Persaud said the Trust is severely understaffed and