KUDOS are in order to the Local Government Ministry to start a clean-up and desilting of Georgetown and its environs. While some may say that the blame game is good, at the end of the day actions speak louder than words and the ministry must be commended for their actions. I and many others were amazed to see that many of the drains in several parts of the city are actually concrete based. Someone has to keep up the momentum and maintain the effort. Of course, persons have a role to play but I’m sure that if the drains are cleared in several areas, it would be easier for residents to keep them clean (whether by self-help or paying the weeder-man to do it once a month at least). My two cents of advice is to use the small excavators which are becoming more prevalent. These can be used in many areas, such as Lamaha Gardens, Kitty, South Ruimveldt; take your pick. This is in addition to the workers employed by the NDCs, many of whom seem to be able to curse loudly than actually clean properly.

If City Hall is unable to get their act together, then the relevant ministry needs to do what is needed to ensure that drains and canals are kept flowing so that a repeat of the flooding that was experienced does not recur. More advice – use the prisoners to clean more often, this was done in years past (the good behaved ones of course) and it worked quite well. Another reason why local government elections are sorely needed is because it is time for the mayor and councillors to hang their heads in shame and take a long walk. Instead of retiring gracefully, many of them may only retire hurt, and in the meantime, the citizenry are hurting from the state of the capital. Bring on the local government elections, maybe I’ll run for office too!

PAUL ROMEO McADAM