– HPS
AN INTENSIFICATION exercise is being undertaken to address the state of the environment, according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday.
He disclosed that it will be spearheaded by Ministry of Public Works and Communication, Ministry of Agriculture, particularly through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Private Sector.
Luncheon said interventions have already commenced in the East Coast of Demerara and East Bank of Demerara Neighbourhoood Democratic Councils (NDCs).
He made the disclosure at his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing in Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown.
Luncheon said, when Cabinet met last Friday, they considered the state of the environment, particularly in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) and in the garden city of Georgetown, resulting in the ongoing work to curb environmental pollution in the NDCs and municipalities.
He said the development coincided with some early signals of the return of the May/June rainy season and, coincidentally, the staging of international cricket here in Guyana.
But, Luncheon noted that the prime motive is really the poor results of the ongoing attention and activities by Government and State departments and agencies in maintaining standards of environmental cleanliness.
“Standards that were once achieved would have not been maintained, with squatting, illegal occupancy of road reserves, unkept road verges, debris filled roadsides and drains all reappearing at an unacceptable level,” he observed.
Luncheon said Cabinet felt those occurrences are “likely to distress us and haunt us and, ultimately, project a wrong image about Guyana.”