City and GPL Lock Horns Over Individual Meters: 97% Completed Kitty Market Held Up by Electrical Gridlock
By Javone Vickerie | HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — In a dramatic twist to the ongoing municipal marketplace saga, Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore has revealed that while physical rehabilitation of the Kitty Market is now 95 to 97 percent complete, the facility’s grand reopening has been completely gridlocked by a standoff over electricity meters.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after Local Government Minister Priya Manickchand conducted a fierce walkthrough of the site, blasting a decade of municipal delays. Pushing back against accusations of administrative failure, Mayor Mentore clarified that the final hurdle keeping vendors stranded on the roadside is entirely beyond the control of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC).
According to the Mayor, city engineers have successfully installed the market’s primary industrial distribution network. However, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) company has yet to hook up the localized, individual prepaid meters required for each independent stall. Without these specific meters, merchants cannot legally occupy the spaces, as the city has no way to accurately calculate or bill individual power consumption.
The Kitty Market Operational Readiness Status
While the structural shell is entirely ready for commercial activity, the operational rollout remains completely stalled by utility dependencies:
| Project Component | Completion Status | Core Operational Constraint |
| Structural & Civil Works | 100% | Main internal market halls, concrete stalls, drainage, and roofing are fully finalized. |
| Primary Electrical Grid | 100% | Master breaker panels, main conduits, and the general municipal meter have been fully passed by inspectors. |
| Stall-Specific Metering | 0% | Stalled by GPL. Individual retail meters are yet to be mounted and activated for the 136 designated stalls. |
| Tenancy Contracts | 85% | Roster audits are underway by the Clerk of Markets; priority contracts are being structured for legacy vendors. |
“We have been working closely with GPL to iron out these final technical wrinkles,” Mayor Mentore stated during an exclusive press brief. “The city cannot simply flip a master switch and absorb the utility costs of over a hundred commercial stalls. We need individual accountability for power usage before we can safely hand over the keys and open this market to the public.”
A Multi-Million Debt Off-Set MOU in the Works
The metering delay is deeply intertwined with a broader financial chess game between the municipality and the state-owned power company. Mentore disclosed that the M&CC and GPL are currently finalizing a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to resolve several long-standing disputes between the two entities.
[ MUNICIPAL - GPL COMPLIANCE TRACK ]
│
┌────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
[ City Debt Liquidation ] [ GPL Infrastructure Access ]
- Off-setting millions in back-taxes - Requesting formal city land leases
- Swapping city rates against GPL power bills - Installing localized substations
│ │
└────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
▼
[ RESULTING DEADLOCK BREAK ]
- Signing of the formal MOU
- Immediate release of 136 stall meters
“We are aggressively working through the details of this agreement, and we expect it to be signed by as early as Wednesday,” Mayor Mentore stated optimistically. “This MOU covers critical infrastructure that GPL intends to construct on municipal land, which we are leveraging to settle outstanding balance matters. We are hoping a high-level meeting this week will yield a definitive timeline for the meter drop.”
Meanwhile, the Clerk of Markets has confirmed that the administrative machinery is moving rapidly behind the scenes. Tenancy arrangements, background checks, and strict maintenance bylaws are being compiled. While spaces are being actively allocated for a wave of new micro-enterprises entering the municipal grid, Mentore assured that legacy vendors who braved the asphalt of the Kitty streets for ten years will maintain absolute first-preference rights the moment GPL clears the meters.
