Dear Editor,
I am in the process of relocating back to Guyana after living abroad for 45 years. Over the last few years I have been spending my annual vacation in Guyana, staying in Better Hope village, about five miles out of Georgetown. I have a few comments on the local government elections that are due in 7 days. My comments are intended as a sort of agenda for the new Village Council to be elected.
Every home-owner in LBI-Better Hope district has to pay a private garbage company to collect household garbage. So what is the purpose of paying property taxes? This practice is unheard of in modern democratic societies.
There is a bar at Better Hope [name provided] which plays loud, earth-shattering metal music until 2.30 am every weekend, and the Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) does nothing about it. Two weekends ago I walked over to the bar to engage the owner. He was unavailable. I saw these huge multiple speaker systems which are normally used to entertain open air concerts in parks with upwards of 25,000 people, so why were these things licensed in the first place for a small bar with no more than 20-patrons? There is no other reason except to commit noise violence on the home-owners of the neighbourhood.
Outside the village office (which is located directly opposite the bar), I met a man named Jainarine Singh who was once the Chairman of LBI-Better Hope NDC. He is currently running to get back on the council. I asked him what he has done to get bar owners to comply with the law. He had no answer.
Drains carrying water from the kitchen sink and excess rainwater are not underground. The water in the drains does not flow, but is mostly stagnant. Keeping the drains functional cannot be left to home-owners. This is a function that must be taken over by the NDC. These drains should also be covered and flushed regularly.
The previous councillors had no plans to address this problem.
We need 1,000 shade trees in the district. Derek Kowlessar, just one home-owner of Better Hope, plants trees at his own expense on the side of the road to beautify the village. This project should be adopted by the NDC and also by the central government – Georgetown needs thousands of shade trees. Trees suck excess carbon out of the atmosphere; some are converted into oxygen through photosynthesis, some are stored in the trunk of the trees. Trees provide shade and beauty to the landscape and also help alleviate global warming.
At the dividing line between Better Hope and Vryheid’s Lust, there is a huge garbage dump containing thousands of bottles and cans and other garbage (near to a burnt-down house). The NDC does nothing about it.
There is need for stop lights in every village. The roadway splits the villages into two halves. Traffic is bumper-to-bumper at rush hours, and at other times motorists’ average speed is 65 mph. It is impossible to cross the road during rush hours. Again the NDC does nothing.
The current crop of LBI-Better Hope councillors have no concept whatsoever about what it means to develop a modern village and about what it takes to resolve quality of life issues for the residents.
One of the more basic needs lacking in these villages is for potable drinking water. Imagine the residents having to buy water to make coffee or tea. I often have a hard time grappling with this issue. How could any government so totally disregard such a basic need of its people?
Vishnu Bisram, a frequent commentator on Guyanese politics, has called for voters to vote for independent candidates at the upcoming local government elections. It is an idea whose time has come. The traditional parties, the PPP and PNC have a hegemonic hold on the population which has not served this country well at the local government level. It is time for the voters to embrace a new idea and vote for independent councillors. If the old idea did not work, try something new.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Persaud
