Dear Editor,
Immediately after the APNU+AFC won the last general election, we witnessed the country embarking on a massive clean-up exercise. The younger generation particularly, was on the lookout for the return of a green Guyana, moreso, Georgetown reclaiming its lost name ‘The Garden City’.
Many stakeholders and ambitious opportunists assisted in whatever way they could. As allegations of corruption, incompetence, mismanagement etc., started to rise against this present government, the adrenaline slowly seemed to ebb away from those responsible for helping to clean up. Today, we witness the city slowly surrendering itself to its given name ‘The Garbage City’.
In addition, downsizing and unemployment are increasing, and conflicts could be seen all over, especially amongst the young people trying to make a decent living by vending. One of my favourite spots to hang out is at the various parks around the Stabroek area. Most times, I would purchase my drinks from the vendors and I would sometimes witness clashes between the constables and the vendors. Sometimes you would witness vendors in tears as their items are seized and they are forced to pay an unconscionable fine. Many constables have a routine and hassle the vendors at least two times a week for bribes.
Noticeable to me and many others, most vendors have a particular spot that they vend on, and that spot is usually maintained by them and would be kept clean throughout the period they sell every day. They would even pay people to clean it further. Why don’t the authorities reach an agreement with the vendors? The last time I checked, there is a scarcity of jobs and these vendors are only selling water and drinks for a living. Some even have their children with them and not in school.
Editor, visiting the Guyana Zoological Park, and Promenade Gardens, major neglect could be seen at these tourist sites. In the zoo, many cages are empty and a tremendous amount of neglect could be observed. What is comical is that signs are present informing you to look closely for the animals and not to feed them. These signs are visible but the signs to display the details of the animals are mostly unreadable. With the huge amount of wildlife available that are being exported and rescued, the zoo could have been properly populated. There are so many animals available and many persons do not have knowledge about them. Some people don’t even know the various types of snake around, even the dangerous types that reside around the environs where people live.
There are many interesting facts about the various wildlife available but no one seems interested in investigating and documenting these. These are all jobs that could be created. The persons doing these jobs but allowing a decline in management/maintenance should be replaced if they don’t have a recovery plan. There is too much neglect occurring and even though huge amounts of money are being invested, we are not seeing any results, only embarrassment.
Yours faithfully,
Sahadeo Bates
