Over the last few weeks I have been writing reviews on my experiences around the city; the culture, arts and night life. It would not be fair if I didn’t give you the other half of the picture that is Georgetown.
It is relevant as I give the flipside to the lovely scenes I have painted that I express my disappointment as a citizen and how sad it is that improper governance and neglect have caused this city to look as shocking as it does.
It is the responsibility of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown to preserve the city’s heritage, promote its culture and arts, support infrastructural development, devise order systems and set standards.
Clearly this is not the case, as the city looks forlorn, helpless and broken down. Pavements are cracked, hardly used and always flooded by the swelling of the dirty drains clogged with silt and topped with plastics and garbage. Pedestrians are forced to walk on the roadways, where they cross streets at will with no order.
Traffic is a scourge, trucks travel at top speed on narrow city streets. In downtown Georgetown, there is no proper parking; cars squeeze in to tiny spots, leaving the already narrow streets that much smaller. Driving becomes a technical skill. Donkey carts and push carts hold back traffic; the homeless and the mentally unstable wander aimlessly.
Come with me to the markets, stinking and confusing; a haven for crime and the black market trade. Our markets are not well managed. Kitty has been condemned by the fire department as a hazard. Around Stabroek is a pigsty. Bourda is clustered and stinking: a public dump with rotten fruits, meat and vegetables.
Perhaps this is the only city in the twenty-first century with an open sewage system as all matter of waste is dumped into drains and canals; a city that floods after only seconds of rain, a city with sewage occasionally spewing on to the streets.
Follow me to the bus parks, disorganised and crappy, with rude and obnoxious touts and drivers cramming passengers into buses like sardines.
Ask me about public and customer services: no standards, a lack of respect and dignity. So much so that when we get the service we deserve and have paid for we want to award that employee for simply doing his/her job. This is a national problem.
All in all, the city is an embarrassment.
This, coupled with the crime, corruption, illicit drugs and trafficking in humans explains why the city, like the country is in despair.
Government will soon be spending millions of dollars to clean the city and repair public infrastructure but this really isn’t the entirety of the solutions we need. What happens after the clean up? Who maintains the city? People need to see commitment and dedication; we need to see leaders take pride in this city.
But citizens also have a part to play. We need to hold the local and central governments accountable. We are paying our taxes and we need to be vigilant and ensure that our money is well spent. We need to hold their feet to the fire.
It is for these and so many other reasons that local government elections are necessary. We the people need to stand up and support this for the betterment of our lives and to return our city to its glory days. Georgetown is not only the capital of Guyana, but the capital of the Caribbean Community; and it is a capital we should be proud of. But we are not.
