Dear Editor,
My heart bleeds every time I pass by the Parliament Building which sits amidst the most foul-smelling part of the City of Georgetown. The pavements around it are a favourite sleepover spot for vagrants, a haven for touts, an open-air public convenience, a ganja smokers’ paradise, a spot for junkies to congregate, a dumping ground for garbage and, oh, please don’t mention the huge potholes at the southern end and the cracked and shifting west and south pavements.
I cannot understand how 66 of the most constitutionally powerful people in this country; the tzars of the executive and the chiefs of the legislature, can pass all of that on their way in and out of the Parliament Building and pretend that it doesn’t exist. The compound and immediate surroundings of the Parliament are perhaps symbolic of the state of mind of the political elite in Guyana, a country where powerful people waltz into their ivory-gated towers, pradovilles and swimming-pooled mansions, then erect guarded steel barricades to insulate themselves and numb their consciences to the real degradation of the rest of society while they sip tea and cast legislative dice for the destiny of our souls. The Parliament Building is probably our most important symbol of nationhood, independence and self-determination; to have it submerged in filth and overgrown by a shantytown are telltale signs of a country falling apart at its foundations.
The inside chambers occupied by the powerful are spic and span, laden with a food bill (among other expenses) of almost two million dollars per session, while the outside is filled with the stench of a decaying society hungry for decency.
I wish to implore the Speaker, to use is good offices to ally with the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Minister of Local Government, the Minister of Works and the Mayor of Georgetown to bring a swift end to this disgraceful national blight. How can we continue to ignore the touting, rum-drinking, ganja-smoking, pickpocketing, gambling, public pissing, loud music, growth of illegal shacks and flourishing bedchamber for the homeless? Maybe the external conditions should not come as a surprise given the amount of trash spoken inside. Aren’t we ashamed that diplomats from around the world have to tell Guyanese how ‘stink’ our city is?
Consideration should be given to renting the burnt-out Auto Supplies grounds to the southern side of the Parliament Building and use it as a temporary terminus to accommodate the Timehri and Linden route buses while a more permanent home is sought. The ugly run-down shed at the back entrance could be removed; approaching the Public Building from the south side (back) one could easily mistake it for a scrap-iron or junk yard. The shacks and shanty town on the western side should be removed and the vendors occupying that area should be relocated. Some semblance of civility should be brought to that area. The roads around the Parliament Building should be repaired and properly marked; the parking should be orderly and silent zones enforced.
I am begging the Speaker to please step out of his hallowed chamber for 5 minutes and take some ‘fresh air.’ He should observe his soundings, and if they do not sicken him to the core of his soul, then he should go back into the palace hall and rest easy while the House over which he presides is overrun by filth. In the meantime Georgetown decays and Parliament continues to be a polluter’s paradise.
Yours faithfully,
Lenno Craig