Pull Quote: ‘The strong public advocacy by Mothers in Black for traffic control and safety resulting in our new seatbelt laws is commendable and worth repeating here. How is it that something that affects us so profoundly doesn’t have the same level of attention?’
THE VIEWS expressed below are not in my capacity as chairman of the Georgetown Mayor and City Councillors Implementation Committee. On my way to work yesterday morning, I was greeted by the flooded streets of Georgetown with debris and garbage floating everywhere. As my colleagues got in to work there were several complaints of having to wade through water from their door to come to work. There is the old saying, “once bitten, twice shy”.  This is one bit of traditional wisdom that doesn’t seem to apply to us in Guyana, particularly when it comes to keeping our capital city from being submerged during the twice yearly seasonal wet weather.
If ever we needed a hard lesson in how devastating today’s rainy seasons can be, the flood of 2005 was it.  In a land that has not known natural disasters as intimately as many of our continental neighbours, we received an extremely traumatic introduction.  We may not have had a massive headline-making death toll as we often see coming out of Asian natural disasters, for example, but the disruption to the quality and rhythm of life was unprecedented. Of recent, we had a gentle reminder last week with the one-day rain which we were blessed with; much to the benefit of our farmers.
The complexities of Guyana’s coastal drainage system cannot be given justice in a single editorial, but the situation in Georgetown is one that begs attention, given that it is ultimately preventable.  We know the  three stock excuses: climate change, Georgetown below sea level and the blockage of the drainage system by the indiscriminate and improper disposal of garbage.  Annual, as the waters rise and the city slows down or halts.
This is unacceptable.  Climate change, Georgetown being below sea level and improper garbage disposal are not excuses – they are related causes which deserve proactive attention.  There is nothing that can be done about climate change in the short term.  It is a global phenomenon that is going to take decades of concerted international effort to stop, and probably decades more to reverse.  Indeed, if anything, this should spur us to be even more proactive in adopting systems to mitigate its potential impact, particularly dealing with excessive rainfall.
The fact of garbage clogging the drainage system of Guyana’s capital city, not some under-funded village in an obscure rural area[d1], is a preventable factor.  I am surprised that there is not greater public advocacy geared towards reversing this phenomenon.  We are not incapable of public action for positive change here in Guyana – when our abortion laws were about to be changed, there was great public outcry; the War on Bad Manners had tremendous public support.  The strong public advocacy by Mothers in Black for traffic control and safety resulting in our new seat belt laws is commendable and worth repeating here. How is it that something that affects us so profoundly doesn’t have the same level of attention?
Maybe we are just culturally opposed to recognizing the tremendous impact that the annual flooding of the City has on so many areas.  With regard to the economy, it costs money to institute stop-gap measures to prevent the water from damaging property; as well as cleaning up when those measures don’t work.  And there is no way that flood waters mixing with raw sewage can be anything but harmful to public health, which in itself has an attached economic element. It is therefore an opportune time to remind ourselves, as citizens, to play our part by ensuring the city’s coffer is replenished in order for the Council to effectively address this issue. This can be done through fulfilling our responsibility by paying our taxes. If we all take this bold step, the onus will be on the responsible officers at City Hall to return same. 
Whether it is school children dumping food boxes in gutters; weekend revellers disposing of beverage bottles at whichever location is most convenient to their state of intoxication; city residents failing to take full advantage of what has been a commendable public garbage pick-up system; or business owners concerned only with having refuse removed from their immediate vicinity with no concern where it ultimately ends up, no one seems to be concerned at how their actions contribute to the problem.  If we were to give an extremely conservative estimate of improper garbage disposal contributing to 10 percent of the accumulation of water in the City’s drainage system, it is still an avoidable 10 percent.
The time has come for the excuses to stop.  What is lacking is proper enforcement of current garbage disposal laws; or even Draconian amendments to existing legislation and, of course, proper enforcement.  We have reached a point where there is need for a proactive system of surveillance –  the introduction of  Closed-Circuit Television cameras (CCTV) positioned at ‘hot’ points is one good step in the right direction – and prosecution, one that is incorruptible and objective in its operation, in which standard penalties are set with regard to the improper disposal of refuse, infractions monitored and reported, and offenders brought to face the law without fear or favour.  Additionally, as may be necessary, penalties should be set for the inability of officials – those who are primarily responsible for solid waste management – to carry out their duties.  Something needs to be done or the cost of this continuing irresponsibility may be too much to bear – that is if it isn’t already. (Burrowesk@yahoo.com)