A DECEMBER 13 cluster meeting between the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry (LGRD), the Ireng/Sawariwau Neighbourhood Democratic Council, and the Region 9 Administration has resulted in Lethem and its environs benefiting from the $1B Clean-Up-My-Country Programme.A team of 13 persons with a tractor and trailer from St. Ignatius village was, on Thursday, dispatched from the Ireng/Sawariwau NDC to begin community clean-up works and removal of bulk waste in Industrial Site, Tabatinga, Bon Success, and Tabatinga Housing Scheme.

“The team began clearing the parapets of overgrown vegetation and removing roadside garbage along the Takutu Bridge to Customs Building, then to Tabatinga Bridge,” Regional Development Officer David Mootoo, of the Local Government Ministry, said.

A statement from the Local Government Ministry on the progress of the works has expressed that phases one and two of the Lethem works have been completed on Thursday, while Friday saw the clean-up team working in the vicinity of the airstrip.

“People are appreciative of the programme, especially those who participated,” Local Government Ministry Works Committee Chairman Rodger King said, as he noted that sensitisation must be done through the NDC’s public meetings, held every three months. The aim of those meetings, he stated, would be to educate residents on the negative impact of littering on humans and the environment.

A primary goal of the clean-up works is to ensure that residents become involved in the process and are gainfully employed while doing so.

The Works Committee Chairman was pleased to note that 90 percent of the workforce comprises Amerindian women, who were bold enough to offer their services; and “the women are very happy to be a major part of the workforce, which gives them an opportunity to clean-up their communities,” he said.

“This income-earning opportunity gave the women an opportunity to generate income which will allow them to prepare their homes and families for the festive season of Christmas,” a statement from the Local Government Ministry has said.

Meanwhile, one member of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce Inc. (RCCI) welcomed the initiative as “very timely, very good, and very commendable on the part of the Government of Guyana for considering Region No.9 under the Clean-Up My Country programme.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by Ms Clair Singh, Regional Executive Officer of that region, who said: “Since the community clean-up and bulk waste removal programme is free, it will give residents an opportunity to get rid of waste stored in their premises which harbour mosquitoes, rodents and reptiles.”

Singh explained that even though there is an annual clean-up exercise in the region, persons continue to dump refuse in open spaces, but in a discreet manner. She cautioned, “If anyone is caught dumping, he/she will be prosecuted”.

The REO is hopeful that after the national clean-up exercise has been completed in the region, “residents will keep their parapets and surroundings clean.” She also hopes that residents would utilise the contracted solid waste service provided by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Regional Solid Waste Programme.