THE ‘Clean up Guyana’ Project, of which $1B was provided for in the 2014 national budget, will be completed by December 31 and is expected to significantly reduce flooding in the city, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Norman Whittaker, assured yesterday. 

Speaking at a press conference at the ministry in Kingston, Whittaker said he provided the same undertaking at the last Cabinet meeting, as all the relevant staff members have committed to completing the project within the stipulated six months.
Speaking in the presence of Permanent Secretary, Collin Croal, Whittaker said, while the Georgetown City Council has been unable to desilt drains, the project will be focusing on those that are heavily silted, and removing garbage as well.
In fact, attention will be paid to seven main canals, namely Downer, Young Street, Lamaha Street, Princes Street, Caneview Avenue (that services South Ruimveldt), Church Street and the Irving Street canals. Focus will also be given to small drains, Whittaker said, adding: “So as soon as the tide falls, you want to be able to get that excess water off.”
Apart from the Local Government Ministry, the key stakeholders identified to move the process forward are the Ministries of Natural Resources and the Environment, Public Works, Agriculture, Housing and Water, and Tourism. The private sector and local government bodies are also included, along with City Hall, civil society, community-based organisations and volunteer groups.
A technical committee has been set up to plan, coordinate and provide oversight of the project and the committee comprises a representative of each stakeholder identified.
According to Whittaker, the objective of the activity is to enhance the physical environment. “At the end of this project, the objective is not only to see Guyana looking clean, not only about placing us in a situation where the incidents of flooding are reduced significantly and totally, it is about sustaining it.”
Whittaker stressed the need for effective maintenance so that the city’s assets can continue to work when the clean-up exercise is completed.
The programme of activities comprise of desilting of drains and main canals, weeding and removal of garbage, repairs to kokers and sluices, removal of garbage piles in illegal dumpsites, de-bushing of cemeteries, planting of trees, and removal of obstacles from parapets and reserves.
The ministry will also be focusing on restoring, in some instances, public assets like kokers, sluices, main canals, roadside drains, parapets and alleyways, cemeteries, monuments, public open spaces, market areas, seawall and beaches, and garbage clean-up.
The project will see City Hall being assisted with repairs to a number of their trucks, tractors and excavators.
Just recently, Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, informed that of the $1B that the 2014 budget provided for implementing the ‘Clean-up Guyana’ programme, $500M will be spent in Georgetown, while the other $500M will be spent in the coastal administrative regions.
Cabinet had given approval, in principle, for the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development to assume responsibility for expending the sum of money.
Written By Telesha Ramnarine