President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced plans to have police and surveillance cameras deployed at specific locations around the country’s capital city in order to curb littering.
Ali made the announcement at the start of a massive two-day clean-up exercise in several communities across Georgetown.
“We are going to put police presence at these sites where people continuously dump their garbage and [those] who do this are worse than the garbage itself because they have no regard for the environment. They have no regard for….each one of us who lives in this country because it becomes a public health issue and it’s time we start calling people out,” Ali said.
“So whilst the police will be out here, the government will be working on cameras to be installed at specific locations because some of it is deliberate in action also. So we will be working on cameras to get these persons who continue to deface our country and put us in a negative light,” he added.
Close to one thousand persons, including several Cabinet Ministers, members of the Joint Services, the Private Sector and the diplomatic corps participated in yesterday’s start of the exercise, dubbed “Operation Clean Up,” which saw illegal dumpsites being cleaned and the weeding and raking of parapets.
Ali pointed out that the exercise would not be “one off.” “What you are seeing here is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
In fact, he said it is his hope to see persons dedicating some time at least every month to cleanup efforts. “…There is dignity in every form of labour so at the end of this exercise, I am hoping from the level of Cabinet we can lead an effort once every month, when all of us can set aside two hours of our time, nationally, and we will come out and clean the pathway or the embankment or the reserve in front of our homes so that all across the country….. the entire community will be clean,” the president explained.
Renewal
In addition to this, Ali said the Government is working on a number of plans which focus on urban renewal and transformation of the city.
“The city of George-town is not a huge city…One of the beauties about this city is that it is a walking city. Which means that you can walking easily around the city and get your business done but you have to walk in an environment that is safe, in an environment that is clean, in an environment that is conducive and that is what we will be creating,” Ali noted.
The desire, Ali said, is to make the city family-oriented, “where families can come out and families can find a safe zone in which we can build not only a relationship between families but relationship between communities.”
Other plans include transforming the old train station at Lamaha Street into “Guyana breakfast hub” by converting the old wooden building to an art gallery, where local artists can exhibit and sell their work.
Several walkways will also be constructed around the city and medians along the roadways all the way up to the East Coast of Demerara as part of modernization efforts.
“It’s starting to build a new culture, a new approach, the way we treat the environment and the way we treat each other. The environment is a demonstration of who we are, how we value each other,” Ali said.
