IT was about two months ago that I first had a close-up view of this courageous and no-nonsense lady, Ms Carol Sooba. She was barking out orders at the drainage and irrigation team at the Le Repentir Cemetery. She was there to ensure that everything go according to plan; a meticulous lady who is sticking to the task of restoring Georgetown to its former glory. So, this is why I call her a woman after my own heart. 

The city has been neglected for years now, which resulted in its cemetery being overgrown with bushes and tall timber-sized trees. All the drainage canals were covered with weeds while hillocks of garbage greeted you at each street corner. There were also the ever-present health hazards of overflowing sewers – in some cases non-functioning sewer lines. All of this was taking place in the very presence of a dinosaur mayor and council, who are all bent on playing politics while the health and safety of the people of this City go to ruin.
They are of the view that Georgetown should be run, that is, financed solely by the Government, while the mayor and council do nothing. Well, the Government of Guyana did address this anomaly with the institution of a Town Clerk in Ms Sooba. She has been planted there to put things right, quite to the chagrin of Mayor Hamilton Green and his gang. She began with the cleaning up of the blatant corrupt practices that is endemic in the municipality. This was done in the classic move of drying up the resources that the mayor and council delved into from time to time in a private capacity. She is now in the process of cleaning up a putrid city; Sooba is in essence the de-facto Mayor of Georgetown. She was planted there to do her job and that is what she is going to do.
Without fear or favour she is beautifying the city, and one of the clear signs of her handiwork is the restoration of the Le Repentir Cemetery to a reasonable resting place for our beloved departed. This brings me to the question of when could we, with pride, stand and have a clear view of this iconic cemetery from one point to the other – let us say from Princes Street to Sussex Street? The answer used to be an impossibility, an unheard of exercise for a number of years. Now, thanks to the effort of Ms Sooba and team this can be done.
I say kudos to Ms Sooba, and keep up the good work.

NEIL ADAMS