ACTING Town Clerk, Walter Narine, alongside the Mayor of Georgetown, Alfred Mentore, and councillors, on Sunday, spearheaded a clean-up exercise at the Stabroek Market and its environs.

The initiative, according to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, aims to enhance the cleanliness and hygiene of one of the city’s busiest commercial hubs.

The clean-up exercise involved the removal of waste, debris, and other forms of pollution, with a focus on making the area more welcoming and sanitary for both traders and customers.

The authorities have emphasised the importance of maintaining cleanliness to ensure the continued success of the market and its surrounding areas.

In a united effort, persons who ply their trade at the market actively participated in the clean-up process. This collective effort demonstrated community cooperation and commitment to improving the city’s environment.

Mayor Mentore in a live video, pointed out that during a visit to the area last week, the team noticed that there was a drainage issue at the market, which prevented the free flow of water.

He said, “It has been a tremendous problem for us and a problem for the people in front of the market, but we had to find the source of the problem in order to address the symptoms. So now we have found the source, we are dealing with the symptoms, and we have the water flowing so that the person in front of the market or the person in front of the Stabroek Market who was affected, that issue will now be an issue of the past because they will have the relief necessary.

According to the Mayor, a clean-up will be done weekly, in the vicinity of the Stabroek Market, as well as Regent Street, Robb Street, and Charlotte Street.

Alongside issues of flooding, the Mayor pointed out that they will continue to find solutions to “unsightly” pallets used by vendors. He mentioned the possibility of encouraging the use of trolleys or other means to allow vendors to be mobile.
“We will work with our vendors so that they will be able to work with us because we believe that they are owed a living just like everybody else, but they have to be as clean as possible. They have to look at the health concerns and they have to look at these issues, and we have to work in tandem to be able to get the kind of results and the success that this council needs to be able to survive,” he said.

Acting Town Clerk Narine added to this saying that Sunday’s exercise aimed to reignite this kind of togetherness with the vendors and the city council to clean the environment, recalling that clean-ups were once done in the past.