Dear Editor,
Well at long last! The letter is titled: ‘No garbage collection in Better Hope,’ and I really thank Nyall Jodhan, for penning his little piece (in a nice way too).
My first comment is that this PPP/C administration must take the blame, for ultimately, the responsibility goes back to the government of the day. What is happening in the Better Hope Market Road smacks of a ghetto – its stinks, has many piles of rubble, boasts about five noisy rum shops, tolerates noisy vehicles, and worst of all, young street limers proliferate there, who are annoying and now pose a high degree of discomfort.
There is a particular run-down house that burns rubbish all the time. The yard smells and the drains reek of waste matter from ducks and fowls. Of recent, it has become a semi-rum shop, attracting hordes of drinkers, smokers and noise-makers. This lot started a new trend: they go down the road and pull the garbage onto the middle of the road, and when they run out of options, they even strew the place with people’s flower pots. This kind of scenario is bound to get worse … unless?
The Sparendaam Police Station is friendly with the villagers on a social level. The officers know the village inside out, and they sometimes hop in for a lime. This is especially so on weekends at the Better Hope Community Centre (I do not imagine that area to be associated with the old, sick and student population; it just cannot be). So the police are part of the problem. I actually heard one policeman telling an accused noise-maker (who was reported), that she must be careful not to play her music loud when “…he home [as] he could mek trouble.” Imagine!
I have called many times, and on one occasion, the officers explained that the patrol is out and that she cannot get on to any one of them (the police on patrol). So I guess criminals and criminality must await interception based on ‘when we can get on to them.’ Even if the vehicle is out patrolling, there are cellphones – a norm. So what is this nonsense about not getting on to them?
When it comes to the Community Policing Group, does Better Hope have any? Clement Rohee boasts about how outstanding Guyana is with these kinds of ancillary units. Let it be known that villagers dislike these show-offs. They have been given a pinch of responsibility and operate as though they are little Ramotars and Rohees in the villages. Most of them are devotees of the PPP/C administration and they have more pomposity than maturity. Wake up Mr Rohee!
Then what is this about wedding houses and other places of festivity, being legally permitted to ‘make some noise’? How come a place or a vehicle is allowed to disturb a neighbourhood, any time and for lengthy periods too? What is more important – sleep, rest, education, recovery (for the sick) or drunkenness? The people who drink, make noise and party in a loud manner have nothing to offer society and Guyana, except ‘pay-off’ some major person (maybe).
Editor, the failure to enforce laws is what is ‘killing’ us. People know what is right, but they are endorsed in doing wrong – no police action, slow police action, discrimination, bribes, etc. It is funny but many people still come back here for visits despise the cultural norms – noise, poor hygiene, etc. If Guyana does not wake up, the next generation will regress dramatically. Face it, the decadence has already gathered momentum.
Yours faithfully,
Kamdeo Etwaroo