Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing says chief executive officer of the Port-of-Spain City Corporation Winifred David is responsible for plastering the walls of Lapeyrouse Cemetery, Tragarete Road, Port-of-Spain. Three weeks ago, Lee Sing began removing the mortar from the walls, made of Laventille limestone and which are nearly 200 years old.
Two men have since been employed to remove it. Lee Sing said he wrote to David demanding answers about the plastering and who gave the instructions. In a telephone interview on Monday, Lee Sing said he received a response on who gave the directive for the plastering.
"I know who was responsible or gave the instructions to mortar the walls of the cemetery. I did get a response. She (David) said she gave the instructions, that it constituted part of a decision to address the painting of the walls. This was proposed by visitors from an American ship that was visiting this country," he said.
"As a result of that, the decision was taken to mortar the walls and it would appear the persons assigned to do the job misunderstood," he added. Lee Sing said he "inherited" the already plastered walls on the northern side of the cemetery.
"I dealt with the transgression on the north side. I am to meet with Citizens for Conservation (CFC) and heritage personnel to make a plan for across the city. How do we preserve our inheritance? The time has come to preserve it because we are going to pass it on," he said. He added the last of the mortar was being removed, the bulk of the debris was gone and the remaining rubble would be cleared away soon.
When a news team from T&T?Guardian visited the cemetery on Monday, there were debris on the northern side of the cemetery. There were no labourers working on the wall. When contacted by e-mail, David refused to comment on the cemetery. In the message, David said she had no comment on the cost of the labour, the plastering cost and its removal or any other questions.
