THE Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development has Chided A people’s Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament, Ms. Volda Lawrence for getting her facts wrong with respect to the ‘Clean-Up My Country Programme.’

The Ministry said last Wednesday evening, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) held a community meeting in West Ruimveldt and several statements about the Clean-Up My Country” Programme were made and misrepresented.

Ms. Lawrence needs to get her facts straight. She lambasted the Government for not giving City Hall a spray can to spray mosquitoes which is presumed to be what is rightfully called a “fogging machine.” Ms. Lawrence said: “Several communities cannot be sprayed at a time because even City Hall don’t have a spray can.”

Personal Assistant to the Minister, Raphael Hazel said: “I will like to inform Ms. Lawrence that on September 23, 2014 at around 09:30hrs one swing fog machine was handed over to the Acting Town Clerk, Carol Sooba who received it on behalf of the Council. In addition, at that event, RDCs of Regions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 were also recipients of swing fog machines which will be used for fogging exercises in the respective communities. In addition, the key of one of the repaired garbage trucks of the M&CC was handed over to the Town Clerk, all to a total value of $5.2M.”

He added: “Another bit of correction for Ms. Lawrence – well, I am not sure which alleyways Ms. Lawrence has been looking at, but across Georgetown under the “Clean-Up My Country” Programme, alleyways were cleared of overgrown vegetation and concrete drains are now visible to all who have eyes to see this after waiting on a lethargic Mayor to do his job of keeping the Capital City clean.”
Ms. Lawrence, to her poorly attended audience, (not sure if she was addressing the stalls or the moving vehicles) said, “It was not the PPP’s plan to clean Georgetown because the PPP is not living in it.” This is a blatant misrepresentation by APNU/PNCR. The party continues to deceive its supporters with twisted tales. Interestingly enough, all of the communities which are undergoing community restoration and sanitation improvement programmes are held out as being APNU/PNCR support base. Given the filth that the Mayor of Georgetown has his fellow APNU/PNCR supporters living in, the Government did what is best for the population and what the Council should have done.

“Ms. Lawrence and the APNU’s troop or cohorts seem not to understand that as part of the implementation of the Georgetown cleanup programme, community consultations were held in all communities. At each consultation, the residents were given the opportunity to highlight and elaborate on environmental issues that are affecting their communities. After the consultations, a representing body or a Community Coordinator was asked to submit a proposal to the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development outlining the areas that needed to be restored such as clearing of parapets and alleyways of overgrown vegetation, removal of illegal dump sites and restoration of playgrounds within the represented communities. Each Community Coordinator recruited workers from his/her community and they all received emoluments for the duration of the Community Enhancement Programme,” Hazel said.

He noted too that when Ms. Lawrence made a statement which said, “Don’t let anybody come into the community to put in contract to clean up yuh community. Don’t let anybody tell yuh, they is PPP and they got to get a contract.” These remarks clearly illustrate how Mr. David Granger and his followers are misleading their supporters.

Hazel noted that to give testimony to what is fact from a concocted story, the gentleman who seemed to be the Chairperson of the community meeting, Mr. Heston Bostwick was the contractor for Albouystown Restoration Programme of which some 34 persons including himself were contracted and were remunerated for cleaning their community exercise.

“APNU/PNCR continues to work to undermine the efforts of the Government of Guyana to improve the living standards of the people of Guyana, and that includes the sanitation conditions under which our people live. They have attacked every effort of the Government to bring improvement to the living standards of the people of Guyana. Mr. Granger seems to be playing ping pong to the detriment of his supporters and all of Guyana,” Hazel asserted.