Steady progress on Ward Theatre renovation, says Kingston Mayor

Kingston’s Mayor Delroy Williams says steady progress is being made on the restoration and renovation of the Ward Theatre in downtown Kingston.

Speaking with The Gleaner following this morning's monthly meeting of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, Williams said that he is aware that persons are of the opinion that there has been little or no progress but indicated that the various projects being undertaken will take time.

The media, donors and councillors of the municipal corporation are among persons who are expected to tour and assess the work being done at Ward Theatre in during Local Government month in November.

Williams said that a major objective of the tour is to allow donors and other stakeholders to see how their money is being spent.

Williams noted, too, that within the next two weeks the progress will become visible to the public.

“A lot is happening. I would not say it (work) is slow because we have to look at how elaborate the work is and the complexity of the job, and most importantly, funding,” he said.

“It’s difficult to move faster because we don’t have the funds to move faster. It’s coming along but there are many things that we didn’t anticipate. We have to take the time to follow the procurement process also and that takes time.”

$3.7 million was provided by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and $11 million by the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) for the Ward Theatre renovation work.