Once again Georgetown has been plunged into garbage woes as the two contracted garbage disposal companies have withdrawn their services owing to lack of payment by City Hall. This seems to be a regular pattern every year with withdrawal happening at least twice a year and of course the reason for this repetitive problem is the financial woes that City Hall has been facing for a long time.
But this is not a matter simply of garbage being piled up. On the contrary, it raises the question of a grave threat to public health. It is by some miracle that there has not been an outbreak of an epidemic as yet, but that does not mean that it would not happen should these garbage woes continue. Perhaps it is time that the citizens of Georgetown consider taking legal action against City Hall for putting their lives at risk by exposing them to horrible garbage piles throughout the city.
What is very clear is that those who are in charge of City Hall the current garbage woes do not seem to be ruffling them or causing any need for urgent action. It is just business as usual for City Hall officials. But it is high time also for the citizens of Georgetown to register their disgust and concern about this recurring problem which compromises the health of everyone. For too long citizens have laid back and allowed City Hall to provide unacceptable levels of services and only attempting to find excuses for the poor services they are providing.
One of the excuses by City Hall like a mantra, is that it is not receiving support from the government. It may be true that it is not getting all the support it has been getting because government has to also provide support to all the other municipalities in the country which are in a similar or worse financial state than City Hall. At the same time, government has been doing tremendous infrastructural works around Georgetown, particularly with respect to roads, bridges and drainage.  The government has also, from time to time,  been paying its rates and taxes upfront to help mitigate the financial plight of City Hall. Therefore, it is unfair and untrue to accuse the government of not providing support. Currently, government is availing $20M to help in the restoration of City Hall.
But the whole question of garbage disposal in Guyana needs a comprehensive and visionary approach. A piecemeal approach may bring temporary relief, but what is needed is a long-term solution because it is a known fact that as a society advances economically and industrially the amount of garbage and waste also increases.
A comprehensive approach should address attitudes of people towards garbage disposal (such as littering, recycling of garbage, incineration, banning the use of certain plastic products and public education and awareness.
With respect to littering, it is one of the most sickening problems in our society and perhaps is the fundamental cause of our garbage woes. Enforcing the littering laws seems to be as big a problem as the garbage woes itself.
However, it is heartening to note that soon after being sworn in, the new Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker has already undertaken to address the garbage problem, and in this regard has signalled his intention to involve the private sector. This is a good initiative because the private sector is one of the largest garbage producers, but at the same time they could provide useful inputs into the process of finding a lasting solution to the problem. “A lot of these garbage piles are  a result of commercial activities,” Mr. Whittaker correctly noted.
One would hope that as he settles down in office he intensifies the search for a comprehensive approach to our garbage problems.