RESIDENTS of Bartica and its environs in Region No. 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) are benefitting from the Government of Guyana ‘Clean-Up My Country’ programme. A team from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (MLGRD) was dispatched from the ministry to oversee the community clean-up and bulk-waste removal programme which commenced on Monday, December22, 2014.

The aim of this Government initiative is to remove illegal roadside garbage piles and provide an opportunity for residents to get rid of bulk waste free of cost. Under this Bartica and environs Community Sanitation Improvement Programme, much emphasis is placed on removing garbage from along the Bartica Water Front and public spaces.
According to Mr. Bramhanand Singh, Special Project Officer for the ministry, “a team exceeding 17 persons removed numerous garbage piles from First Avenue to Seventh Avenue, Bartica between Monday 22 and Tuesday 23, December, 2014.”
Mr. Singh went on to say that while emphasis was placed on cleaning of the river front and public spaces, residents were given the opportunity to get rid of bulk waste stored on their premises. Waste retrieved from the clean-up activities will be disposed of at the landfill site on the Bartica/Potaro One Mile Road.
The ministry is encouraging the people of Bartica and its environs to place garbage in receptacles; and for the disposal of accumulated household waste, utilise the disposal service provided by General Sanitation Enterprise which is contracted under the MLGRD Regional Solid Waste Programme. This is critical for sustainability, and more so, the financial resources allocated for removal of garbage which is dumped indiscriminately can be placed in other areas/programmes which can be more beneficial to persons over the long term.
In an invited comment, Chairman of the Bartica Interim Management Committee (IMC), Mr. Ovid Benjamin, related: “The people of Bartica are very pleased about the presence of Government of Guyana Clean-up programme in their community.” With regard to the environmental challenges, Mr. Benjamin said persons continue to dispose of their garbage indiscriminately, and “this is awful.” He said there is a growing practice of residents paying the destitute to dispose of their waste and this is a primary concern to the administration. In his capacity as Chairman, Mr. Benjamin is asking those who are culpable of such actions to desist from this practice.
Mr. Benjamin also mentioned that currently a new landfill site is being constructed to service the community and once this is operable, the issues of garbage laying around road shoulders will be addressed. He also zeroed in on another escalating concern affecting the community, that is, persons dumping their accumulated waste along the access road of the landfill site which further complicates the garbage crises in the communities.
After several meetings with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), and the Bartica IMC, Region No. 7 Cuyuni/Mazaruni, Government has offered to provide assistance to the construction of the landfill site under the Regional Clean-Up My Country Programme. Currently, the MLGRD is awaiting a proposal from the solid-waste disposal company, General Sanitation Enterprise, outlining the company’s input and operational plan of the new landfill site which will determine the extent of Government’s input into construction of the facility.
Under the regional aspect of the Clean-Up My Country Programme, Regions No. 2, 3, 4, 5 6, and 9 have completed community clean-up and bulk- waste removal programmes. Cluster consultations are planned for Regions. No. 1, 8 and 10 after the Christmas holidays.