Dear Editor
THE garbage situation in Georgetown stinks to high heavens, but the council has not shown that it can manage it.

So, we are all at risk and don’t know what to do. Interestingly though, according to media reports, one of the recommendations of the Kennard Commission of Inquiry is that the heads of departments be dismissed. Looking deeper into this very recommendation I have noticed that they all belong to a particular group. Strangely, the one head that has not been cited in Kennard’s report is the officer dealing with solid waste. But as I go about my daily chores, the city is saturated with piles of garbage, not only on parapets, but also in drains.

So why has the chairman deemed all the other heads’ performance poor but not the officer responsible for waste collection in Georgetown? Is it because of association or friendship?
Georgetown is a mess. In the past, this present APNU+AFC government made much weather out of the massive clean-up campaign. They talked about a pristine, clean Georgetown. Indeed, at one time the city was cleaned up, so much so that Guyanese and visitors from overseas commented on the newness of the city. But since that respite the city has slipped back into a very untidy and unhealthy state. What has gone wrong?

Now the council is dumping rubbish in the cemetery with substantial amounts of waste left on streets in Georgetown. People have started to complain once again about the appearance of the city. Mourners have to navigate garbage, high bushes, impassable roads and overflowing drains to bury their dead.

Maybe the government should consider taking this on as a governmental responsibility, because the city council seems incapable of handling it. In any case, it is the government that has been consistently bailing out the council with payments to the garbage contractors. This could be an indicator that the council does not have the money to do garbage collection. The government should act now before it is too late.

Regards
Collin Davidow