PoS mayor: Committees to work on renaming square, street, monument

Port of Spain mayor Chinua Alleyne. - FILE PHOTO/ Faith Ayoung

Port of Spain mayor Chinua Alleyne said three committees will be formed to advise the Port of Spain City Council on the renaming of Woodford Square, the replacement of the Columbus statue and the renaming of Oxford Street.

Speaking during the Port of Spain City Corporation’s monthly statutory meeting at City Hall, Knox Street, Port of Spain, on August 27, Chinua explained what each committee will do.

"The first committee will advise the council on an appropriate name for the space now known as Woodford Square.

"There is a committee of artists that will advise the council on an appropriate monument to replace the one that is in the process of being removed, and another committee will advise the council on implementation of the renaming of the street as the Kwame Ture Street, as a separate but related item. After that, we will inform the national community on the plans going forward."

Asked by Newsday after the meeting why only a portion of the street would be renamed, Alleyne said that was one of the recommendations made.

"But as we move to implementation, you may find the decision is amended. There is room for some amendment."

Alleyne said he would be making a site visit to the fountain at Woodford Square next week, along with the National Trust, to develop a project for its restoration.

"National Trust has some photographs of the fountain in its original condition and our hope is to be able to do some restoration works because it was in 1866 that the fountain was erected, so it’s turning 160 years old next year, so we’re trying to work aggressively to do some restoration works on it."

A group of people enjoy the card game, Yu-Gi-Oh, in Woodford Square, Port of Spain. - FILE PHOTO/ Faith Ayoung

Alleyne said the corporation was working hard to ensure that the loss of the CEPEP programme did not affect the city too much.

"The CEPEP contractors were terminated without warning and so there was no opportunity for, not just this corporation, but I’m sure all corporations did not have the opportunity to scale their service in order to account for the change in CEPEP.

"It has been in operation for over two decades, I happened to have sat on the board for a brief period, so I’m familiar with what the company does.

"We have been working diligently to make resources available so we could scale our operations to account for the shortfall that has been created by the closure of the CEPEP contracts."

Alleyne also announced the details of the corporation’s planned Independence celebration on August 31.

He said the event would take place at Nelson Mandela Park, starting at 10 am, with activities for children, such as bouncy castles and face painting.

"At noon, we will transition to the Picnic for the Park, where we have an exciting cultural programme planned.

"We’re inviting families to come out, bring your blanket, bring your basket, bring your coolers, no glass bottles allowed, and come and enjoy a nice fun day of entertainment with the family.

"Showtime will be at 12.30 pm and we will end at 5 pm."

Alleyne said at 6 pm, the Woodbrook/St James Community Association would host Pan on D Avenue, which it had done for the last ten years.

"The main stage area will be the Adam Smith Square, but the pan will be all along the avenue.

"I think 17/18 steelbands will be participating. It will be pan, pan and more pan. So if you like pan, if you like our culture, if you want to celebrate Independence with the national instrument, we are in the city of Port of Spain, providing you with an opportunity to do so."