Dear Editor,
I read with disgust the utterances by the Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Green during an interview when he criticized the approval of monies to clean up the huge piles of garbage around the city. There has been an age-long cry about lack of funding, and now that the government has made a proposed allocation of $500 million to clean up the city none other than the Mayor is saying that it is not necessary – damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The Mayor seems to be comfortable with the piles of garbage around the city.
Editor, the Mayor is indeed suffering from Rip van Winkle syndrome as he does not seem to be aware of the enormous piles of garbage that decorate the city on a daily basis. The current health risk in the city falls solely at the feet of the Mayor for being derelict in his duties, while playing old school PNC politics.
I, as well as the thousands of Guyanese who traverse the city on a daily basis am sickened and fed up with the state of the city and the lack of concern shown by the Mayor and City Council.
Notwithstanding the lackadaisical approach of the Mayor and City Council in addressing the garbage calamity in the city, the effort of the government through the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment with its campaign against littering is slowly catching on and will pick up speed when more litterbugs are charged under the new litter regulations. These new regulations introduced by the ministry are most welcome and are proving to be effective.
I strongly believe that the ministry and the Environmental Protection Agency are heading in the right direction in creating a sense of awareness among citizens, and then addressing enforcement.
I should like to remind Mayor Hamilton Green that the City of Georgetown belongs to all the people of Guyana, and it’s not a toy that can be used for political attention and gimmicks. As such, I would like to urge the Mayor to awaken from his deep slumber and do something meaningful for the city for which he will be remembered.
Yours faithfully,
Shamshudeen Khan
