IN the wake of municipality and NDC failures, citizens willing to ensure a clean Guyana
The extra effort needed by citizens to ensure a clean Guyana through proper solid waste management is still existent among Guyanese, despite the carelessness displayed by some in their reckless disposal of garbage.This was the sentiment expressed in a press release received by this newspaper recently.

This support for a clean Guyana is evident in the comments posted on the Clean and Green Guyana (CGG) Facebook page. The page was created on November 28, 2013 with the aim of forging behavioural change among Guyanese as it relates to the wanton disposal of waste.

“CGG therefore believes that the use of this social medium is a good platform to source ideas and gain feedback regarding the willingness of the general public to ensure a tidy environment.”

The younger generation can only visualise the pristine cleanliness of Georgetown of yesteryear, when it was known as “The Garden City” through archival pictures; and in the rural areas where, although many families could not afford paint, the houses of the poor were scrubbed inside and out during celebratory occasions, which means several times a year, even the bridges were scrubbed; and those old enough can remember the “scraper”, a sharpened piece of galvanized tool that was used to scrub wooden floors until they looked brand-new. Yards were swept clean every day and those with houses on stilts “daubed” their “bottom-houses’ with cow manure to a gloss that is rarely achieved by designers today.

And the “chulha’, a fireside made with clay where all the cooking was done, was daubed with white clay after every cooking. Clothes had to be washed at the “waterside” – whether it was a GuySuCo-dug canal used to transport punts with canes or the bank of a nearby natural stream or river; because oftentimes these, or a specially dug pond in the backyard and receptacle used to catch rainwater were the only sources of water for household use; yet, Guyana from end to end always looked as though it was newly washed with rainwater from end to end during every season of the year; so immaculate was it.
Today, only Essequibo, once dubbed the “Cinderella County” has now truly become the princess of Guyana because, except for the odd flaw here and there, the cleanliness and escalating progress is evident in its ever-changing landscape. Apart from hinterland communities – where even the mining and other entrepreneurial activities are decimating the pristinity of the landscape-the entire Guyana is intermittently strewn with garbage from coast to coast.

Travelling for miles on Guyana’s highways was always a joy, because its beauty and verdancy enthralled the mind and soothed the spirit. But sadly, the beauteous landscape has been marred by garbage strewn willy-nilly every which way, just dumped at road corners and in Guyana’s once ink-black and gently flowing waterways, with beautiful lotus flowers and water lilies interspersing softly murmuring waterways now litter-blocked, with an emanating stench that discourages malingering and a meandering journey to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of Guyana’s natural beauty and bounties.

Somehow the pride in our country has been lost, sacrificed to the pursuit of the mundane, the ordinary, and the ugly.

But there is hope, with what seems to be the promised resurrection of our national pride and personal dignity in the establishment of the Clean and Green Guyana (CGG), which is an initiative that falls under the purview of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank.
A Guyenterprise release quoted the reaction to this initiative by some Facebook bloggers as follows:-
Posting on the CGG timeline on January 6, Eddie Beresford commended the initiative, saying, “A very good overdue idea which can only work if people at the community level view the environment in which they live as an extension of their own homes. They can then take personal responsibility for the health and safety of the environment and collectively demand that government does the same by implementing procedures alongside practical and necessary services.”

Another fan of the page, Lylette Primell, made a suggestion on February 3, while welcoming the initiative. “Great, this is a much needed group… now we need to figure out a way to get rid of styrofoam and return to using cardboard boxes for fast food…styrofoam like plastic does not rot”, she said.

Many also welcomed the call by CGG to “team up to clean up”, by expressing their readiness to do so. On February 3, Marlon Noel said, “We are happy to collaborate with you. Go Guyana Club will be planning out an environmental project. Let’s come together to make Guyana better. One People, One Nation, One Destiny – Just One”

On January 3, Jacqueline Moriah-Jordon said, “I am so glad to see your site. Guyanese need to take responsibility for their environment! Will help in whichever way I can…awesome initiative!”. Joel Heywood, who posted on November 28, 2013, wrote: “The idea behind this page is great! Very necessary too!! A total turn around in the behaviour patterns of many as it relates to littering is very much needed!” and Jameel A Khan said “It is excellent that you and others can focus attention towards this end”.
CGG has accumulated a total of 531 supporters since November 28, 2013 to date.
CGG believes that if all Guyanese shared similar sentiments and practised such beliefs, then the title “The Garden City” can once again be considered suitable for Georgetown.

Chronicle wishes to commend this initiative and to promise full co-operation so that Guyana can once again be called “El Dorado” and “The Magnificent Province”. Although we are no longer a colonised country, thus not a province, we can certainly redeem our magnificence if we do it together as a people with one common goal, for the pride and redemption of our national patrimony bequeathed to us by all our ancestors.