The heavy rainfall on Thursday morning awoke consumers to the dangers we still face in flooding. Consumers in country areas lost crops and are in danger of losing animals. There is the damage to furniture and carpets as water enters bottom house apartments. Thoughts turn to littering, which remains as a serious problem.
In January this year it was reported in the Guyana Chronicle that the Mayor and City Council were very concerned about littering. The caption on the article was ‘Littering the most challenging problem for City Hall.’
The Public Relations Officer of the Mayor and City Council, Royston King, said that the cumbersomeness of the judicial process was daunting efforts to prosecute people for littering offences. He said that it was difficult to prosecute persons for littering and the fine was $10,000.
According to Mr King, the city council has been speaking with the stakeholders as well as citizens encouraging them to act more friendly towards the environment.
But consumers seem not to care. Garbage is still thrown in trenches and gutters. Wild eddo is overgrown in water outside homes. It seems useless to ask for co-operation in any effort to advance social responsibility.
Mr King revealed that the city council spends about $1 million dollars a day collecting and disposing of garbage. He went on to say that in some communities no matter how much you clean the place still looks dirty because people are not maintaining cleanliness.
He referred to the unlawful dumping of waste at the corner of Hogg and Sussex Streets, Albouystown; it remains in an untidy state no matter how often it is cleaned.
We know that consumers often throw plastic cups and other garbage from the windows of cars and buses. The Guyana Consumers Association had spoken against this habit. It does not matter that schools have a responsibility to train their students that gutters and the roadways are not made for plastic cups and food boxes.
Mr King spoke some time ago about the ticketing system as well as the municipal court where the council can expedite municipal cases. He said that he hoped that these would be implemented by the competent authority soon. He said that if the problem of littering was handled, the city would be great and would be able to improve its reputation as well as its image.
It is for those who are concerned to set an example. It will take a great effort to have people change their ways. And it is just a Guyanese trait. Someone once noted that he saw a Guyanese at our airport just discarding garbage on the floor, but when waiting in the airport in Trinidad the same Guyanese discarded his garbage in the bin provided.
