Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud, said yesterday that littering is totally unacceptable, and made a clarion call for citizens to desist from littering and be on guard for those who do so.

The comment was made when the minister visited workers undertaking the cleaning of sections of Georgetown , which was executed by central government and coordinated by the Ministry of Local Government as a component of the ‘Pick it up Guyana’ campaign.
Minister Persaud stated that all citizens must be responsible and responsive to maintaining the environment. Recognising that many more areas needed to be cleaned, the minister said that such clean up campaigns needed to be sustained and he called on the relevant local government authorities to get on board.
While admitting that the current state of the environment in terms of the pervasiveness of garbage is causing some level of frustration, Minister Persaud stressed that everyone has a role to play in ensuring that the environment is kept in a proper manner.
He urged the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown to sustain the investment being made by Central Government, led by the Ministry of Local Government.
He appealed to citizens to help keep the areas clean and urged businesses to take up the mantle and play an active role in contributing to a clean environment.
He stated that his ministry will be toughening up on penalties for littering and implementing a ticketing system for those found littering.
Further, workers undertaking the cleanup exercise were also vocal in their call on citizens to stop littering. It was pointed out that the areas cleaned appear beautiful, but workers expressed disgust that some citizens will litter again without thought of the time and effort spent to get the areas clean. The clean-up exercise was undertaken over a three-day period and targeted Queenstown, Alberttown, Thomas Lands and Church Street.