Helter-skelter parking in City to end – as efforts heighten to clean, re-green Georgetown
DOWNTOWN Georgetown is beginning to have a cleaner, greener appearance, and while this is an encouraging sign, more has to be done to stop the helter-skelter parking in the busy city streets.President David Granger said he is happy that the idea of greenness is catching on, noting that reckless parking will also be placed on the radar. “I believe that it (greening of Georgetown) is gaining momentum… they (City Hall) have to tackle the problem of solid waste, tackle the problems of litter, tackle the problem of destruction of trees and parapets and vegetation, and the parking of vehicles helter-shelter in the city.”
October 3 is national tree-planting day, and the President said he wants to see more controlled vegetation. “We want to see the parks being restored, the National Parks, the Parade Ground, the Promenade Gardens, Botanical Gardens; we want to see a re-greening of Georgetown and we want to take this message to other places — Bartica, Mahdia, Lethem, Mabaruma. We want to see Guyana greening again. It is not just cleaning but making Guyana more environmentally-friendly as well,” he told the Guyana Chronicle and Stabroek News last week.
Granger said the efforts to keep the city green will be maintained largely by the City Council, pointing out that the once sordid state of Georgetown was the product of a cold war between PPP Government and the municipal authorities. “We feel the cold war is now ended. We now have a Town Clerk who is responsive to the needs of the council, the elected council. We’re now moving towards to Local Government and Municipal Elections and we have cordial relations with the City Council. We want to help the City Council to help itself,” the President said.
WILL STOP
He noted that for the past 20 years, many visitors to Georgetown had to contend with an unkempt city, and promised that this will stop.
“This is an effort being pioneered by the City Council itself and we want to give them all possible support; it is not the central government responsibility but we will help the City Council to help itself to clean-up the city,” Granger said.
The green drive Town Clerk Royston King said involves what was deemed most important, “a vigorous education initiative to instil in citizens the necessity, and long-term benefits of a clean, green city”.
He pointed out that this new approach to the city “demands a new attitude from all citizens occupying or traversing the capital”. This is especially so, since work is currently on-going to address matters that have caused the decay of the capital of Guyana. These include the revision of legislation related to offences and penalties, and additional regulations to ensure the continuance of what city administrators envision.
As it stands, 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 – have confiscated city alleyways, reserves and other open spaces.
Overgrown bushes and grass characterise almost every inch of Georgetown, while huge buildings have risen; some not adhering to the construction or zoning rules and regulations of the Council. “This will be no more,” King charged. “Until the requisite legislation is passed to seriously arrest acts that contribute to the city’s deterioration, we will boost enforcement of all existing laws.”
King also warned that citizens should be mindful now of how they treat the city, before indicating 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.
