Dear Editor,
I wish to add my voice to those of Dr. Yog Mahadeo and Mr. Malcolm Harripaul (Letters, March 23, 2022) whose letters dealt with the issues of noise nuisance and Guyana’s rum culture. I have been writing, for some 20 years, about the noise nuisance lawlessness, which is not confined to wedding houses and rum shops, but is very publicly flaunted by no less than the Government of Guyana, the Mayor and City Council, and large corporations, all of whom operate lawlessly during Mashramani and Carnival parades in the city. The noise emitted from these state and corporate entities is always well above the health and safety limits, and always continue unabated for hours. As long as this culture is endorsed at the top levels, all assurances given by any government entity, including the Guyana Police Force, will continue to be pure hypocrisy.
Also hypocritical is any talk coming from Government about its concern for the nation’s health and wellbeing and its showing-off of health centres and hospitals that are being built since the damage done to the health of the citizenry by even one hour of lawless noise levels is medically documented and proven. No Government has ever really cared for our health and wellbeing since none in recent years has enforced the law against noise nuisance, or even cared to follow it. As has also been noted recently, the Guyana Government has fully embraced a “stink and dutty” culture, a term which perfectly encapsulates the lawlessness of noise nuisance, alcohol consumption and vulgarity that is promoted and funded by a Government which flagrantly misuses taxpayers’ dollars that can be better spent elsewhere. Added to all the hypocrisy that emanates from the state is the fact that this letter will never be published by any state media, or any media partisan to the Government. Talk of democratic rights and freedom of speech is also hypocritical.
Sincerely,
Ryhaan Shah
