Dear Editor,
The restoration of Georgetown (the Garbage City), to its former title of “The Garden City,” has either ground to a halt or moving at a snail’s pace. The pledge to restore Georgetown was made months ago. Georgetown remains disgraceful and unsightly and this prevails even in the heart of the city where there is a high level of traffic by vehicles and pedestrians. The garbage is in piles and the drains and trenches are clogged with litter, resulting in stagnation and stench. This is stifling and undoubtedly presents a health crisis for all and sundry, even to those who may feel they are shielded from this.
Guyanese who left here as long ago as the 1960s have remarked that Guyana now has oil but the quality of life and standards have deteriorated. What was once the Garden City of the Caribbean is now a city of garbage, filth and stench. This does not augur well for tourism, as people will not want to venture into our streets, other than by an airtight, air-conditioned vehicle. The emphasis is being placed on eco-tourism but how could we want this while leaving Georgetown and its environs in such a dastardly state of disregard and consequently showing a lack of respect for ourselves and others?
The state of the world now behooves us to address this restoration with severity and alacrity before unwarranted reasons are given by invaders pretending to be saving us from environmental harm and governmental neglect. Let us be the ones to “Make Guyana Great Again.”