complain of poor drainage, littering, inadequate garbage disposal

WITH Local Government Elections nearing, citizens of the once-revered Garden City are urging their fellow Guyanese to vote for improved management at City Hall.
Over the past few weeks, a handful of videos have surfaced of Guyanese expressing their utmost disappointment with how City Hall has been managed under the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) regime for the past three decades.

Under the tagline, “A New Beginning for Georgetown,” residents of all ages and from different walks of life have not only pointed out the incompetence of City Hall, but also how the mismanagement negatively affects their community.
Concerned citizens in these videos highlighted common themes such as land pollution, poor drainage, irregular garbage collection, and the deplorable conditions in markets. Overall, they emphasised the neglect of Georgetown.
People have also complained that although they are paying their dues to City Hall, they still have to take money out of their own pockets to maintain their communities.

In one of the most recent videos, a citizen who has been living in Albouystown for the past 25 years highlighted the large piles of garbage in the area, which are an eyesore not only for the residents, but also for passersby.
According to the man: “This is one thing we can’t take,” referring to the land pollution evident at the mouth of the community.
He further noted that while initially the garbage trucks used to regularly visit the community, this has stopped, and now they hardly come to do their duties.

He then went on to say: “Nothing [is] going on in the city for Albouystown people,” adding that the absolute mistreatment by City Hall is now unbearable.
The man then stated that he and his wife come to the corner of Sussex and Saffon Streets every morning, to catch the bus, but owing to the repulsive stench emerging from the massive heaps of garbage in the area, it deters them.
Moreover, he said that the duty is now imposed upon the local shopkeepers to remove the litter and maintain the area when the eyesore becomes too much.

“We need a change” the man asserted.
From another video, a woman from East Ruimveldt, who has been living in the area for 43 years, expressed much dissatisfaction with the drainage system in the community.
She stated that effective administration at City Hall is essential for the community to thrive, mentioning that problems such as flooding should not happen when rain falls.

“On the 12th of June, let us come out and make the change,” the woman said.
Another resident of Georgetown pointed out several problems within his community ranging from poor drainage to inadequate garbage collection, among other issues.
“From the time it rain[s], [it] floods” he said in a frustrated manner.

He then went on to emphasise that City Hall has even neglected the playground in the area and thus, the children cannot even utilize it.
The man further urged residents to give the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) a chance at the upcoming LGEs because the current administration has failed the city.
Local Government Elections are scheduled for June 12. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will be contesting all Local Authority Areas (LAAs) and hopes to increase its representation in Georgetown at the level of the City Council, which is currently controlled by the PNC-led APNU+AFC.

Reports are at the last Local Government Elections in 2018, APNU won 21 seats, while the PPP/C gained seven seats and the Alliance For Change (AFC) was allotted two.
After serving some five years as Mayor of Georgetown, Pandit Ubraj Narine has decided against contesting the upcoming Local Government Elections, noting that he has already given the job his “best shot.”
Narine was elected to the post of mayor in 2018 and, throughout his tenure, faced immense backlash over a wide array of issues surrounding management of the capital city.