Abruptly dismissed on Monday after serving two years as Head of the EPA, Dr Vincent Adams has warned that the country faces a serious challenge in keeping its rivers free of pollutants as it becomes an oil economy and he called on Guyanese to hold their leaders accountable.
“What Guyanese must, as other people around the world do, is to hold their politicians and decision-makers accountable. Do not take the power you have lightly. Pay attention. My impression is that people here give up too easily and say they alone can’t make a difference. But they don’t understand the power of numbers and how much as a united front how much they can achieve,” he told the Sunday Stabroek in an exit interview.
“The number of companies that are going to be coming in here is unimaginable. They will be handling a lot of chemicals and a lot of them will be located in the Demerara area. The rivers we have to be mindful of. I have seen firsthand when the Berlin Wall came down and when we looked at Eastern Europe how their waters were like sores. Focus on waterways. When you pollute your air and water ground bed, you cannot shut it as a pipe. That lasts for decades and centuries, if you can ever really clean it up. I hope citizens pay attention,” he cautioned.
