The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has launched a public campaign to turn Georgetown into a “Green City.”
The campaign, which calls for citizens to help make the city “Clean and Green,” intends to restore the Georgetown to the status it once enjoyed as the “Garden City.”
As part of the campaign, the Council has invited all citizens and stakeholders to a “Green Georgetown” restoration consultancy, which is to be held at the National Cultural Centre on Wednesday at 10am.
According to a press statement issued by the Council, the consultancy will see top officials on hand to hear the concerns of the public, their interests and possible ideas on particular issues. “The Council officers will also answer burning questions from the public and provide information or answers to matters within the purview of the Council,” it added.
According to the Council, it is seeking advice or input from all stakeholders who share a vested interest in the restoration of the capital and it, therefore, hopes for a good representation from the religious community, corporate community, non-governmental organisations, community groups and citizens.
The Council has already seen some response with the commitment of furniture and home appliance giant Courts (Guyana) to replanting the entire Main Street Avenue from North Road to Lamaha Street and further to the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.
Courts, which has for more than five years kept the section of the avenue facing its establishment clean, has consistently found the chore to be difficult given wanton littering and the lack of garbage receptacles.
Courts’ last clean-up of the avenue cost some $250,000 and the total expenditure in this area would have ran into millions given the years the company has maintained the avenue.
Also part of the restoration campaign is a vigorous education initiative, which aims to help citizens understand the necessity and long term benefits of a “Clean and Green” city.
According to the Council, “Georgetown has been plagued by flooding due to blocked drains, canals and other waterways. The city is congested given its layout, while citizens, particularly the business community, has confiscated city alleyways, reserves and other open spaces. Overgrown bushes and grass characterize almost every inch of the capital, while huge buildings have risen; some not adhering to the construction or zoning rules and regulations of the Council.”
Town Clerk Royston King said “this will be no more” as “work is currently ongoing to address matters that have caused the decay of the capital.” These works include the revision of legislation related to offences and penalties, and additional regulations to ensure the continuance of what city administrators envision.
Until these revisions are completed and “the requisite legislation is passed to seriously arrest acts that contribute to the city’s deterioration, [the Council] will boost enforcement of all existing laws,” the Council statement added.
There is to be a “no tolerance” policy for persons, who among other violations, arbitrarily destroy or occupy city property, and dump or cause waste to be dumped illegally. There are also plans for training and assistance to citizens so as to educate them about the effects of substances, such as weedicide, on the environment.
They will also be programmes on recycling and composting processes and available information on the benefits of low carbon strategies and alternative energy sources.
Citizens of Georgetown will also be encouraged to plant more trees and to care for them as plant and animal life must be respected in the city.
In the Council statement, King appealed to citizens to begin, “to wrap their minds around a new healthier, greener Georgetown,” for while the city is up for a grand return to glory, its citizens will also have to come up to par.
