According to a report published in today’s edition of this newspaper and based on information provided by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon at his post-cabinet press briefing yesterday, the government has begun to clean up Georgetown. Apparently, cabinet was moved at its last meeting to consider the poor state of the city and the mandate has been given to return Georgetown to its “glory days” when it was referred to as the ‘Garden City.’
Certainly, this is a move in the right direction. It is a pity that the city was allowed to deteriorate to its current sorry state, but citizens would surely be in the spirit to forgive all if what Dr Luncheon said yesterday actually came to pass. However, one cannot help but have niggling doubts given the obvious.
Firstly, how and why did it take the cabinet so long to notice the rot? As said in these columns last week, there can be no excuse – not on the part of the central government and not on the part of the Mayor and City Council – for keeping Georgetown in such a state for so long. There is/was an ulterior motive; its name is politics.
Secondly, just how coincidental are the imminent International Cricket Council’s Twenty/20 World Cup matches, which are to be staged here? And could it really be just happenstance that the last time a massive clean up was undertaken was for the 2007 Cricket World Cup? Apart from the promise of such an event being a significant revenue earner, which was not the case in 2007, it would appear that it allows for a somewhat cleaner environment. A case has been made, therefore, for more international cricket matches to be staged here. No one who lives in this city would argue with that.
Yesterday, along with referring to the upcoming event as a coincidence, Dr Luncheon also pointed to the impending May/June rains as coincidental, giving the impression that there was a plan to clean up Georgetown all along. If so, why only now? Why not during the last eight months or so of El Nino? These are only some of the questions that the cabinet secretary should have addressed at his press briefing.
Others would include how exactly is this exercise being undertaken? Will all wards in the city be addressed? Will there be any coordination with the M&CC, which by the way, is currently conducting drainage works in the city? Dr Luncheon specifically stated that the exercise will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Works & Communications and the Ministry of Agriculture along with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector, but did not mention the city council. He also did not say what the long-term plans are for maintaining the ‘Garden City’ once it has been restored.
Strangely, Dr Luncheon referred to squatting, illegal occupancy of road reserves, unkempt road verges and debris filled roadsides and drains as having “reappeared at an unacceptable level,” which begs the question as to which city he is living in and talking about. These are problems that have been with us for so long, that they would appear to be the norm rather than the exceptions and aberrations that they really should be.
While lawlessness and littering seem to have become part of the local psyche, there is scope for a reversal of this. Education and awareness programmes are certainly needed, but what would have greater impact would be the enforcement of city by-laws and the application of punitive measures when these are broken. Somehow people pay more attention when they are made to pay for their actions.