Representatives from various Chinese businesses in Georgetown yesterday met with Mayor Hamilton Green at City Hall to discuss the maintenance and restoration of the city.
The meeting, according to the Mayor, was convened to have discussions with the Chinese business owners to explore the avenues of maintaining the cleanliness of Georgetown, and to seek ways to restore the beauty and integrity of the city, while strengthening the relationship and building bridges with the people.
About twenty Chinese representatives were present for the discussion and they expressed optimism about contributing to the restoration of the city’s cleanliness and its maintenance.
In the effort to restore the city of Georgetown, Green pointed out that business owners are expected to understand and follow the high standard of the authorities. He said that for almost two and a half decades the city council lacked the cooperation of the government and as a result the council was not able maintain the city’s condition.
The Mayor further noted that discussions are ongoing to identify strategic locations to place bins which could be easily accessed and allow for easy disposal.
Further, the Mayor noted, all businesses should be responsible for the cleanliness of their surroundings and it should not matter where the garbage originated because far too often, businesses refuse to take responsibility for their own garbage.
Green encouraged the business owners to have proper receptacles to facilitate the collection of all waste near their business, while he cautioned them not to employ drug addicts to remove waste. Many times business owners have been known to employ addicts to clean drains and to dispose of waste, but more often than not, they would take the garbage from one location and dump it at another, Green added.
The Mayor welcomed the discussions with the Chinese as he reminded them Guyana’s first executive president was of Chinese origin, which shows the respect the country has for the Chinese people. Simultaneously, those present were also urged to respect the laws of Guyana and protect the environment.
Jason Wang, a representative of China Trading, said the Chinese people are happy to be working in Guyana and they were always interested in contributing to the maintenance of the city but were unaware as to how to get properly involved.
Wang commended the discussions initiated by the Mayor and pledged his and his fellow businesspersons’ support to the Mayor and City Council in its efforts for the restoration of Georgetown.
The Mayor encouraged the business owners to work together as a people to ensure their contribution in making Georgetown the most beautiful city.
