Dear Editor,

THE very name Guyana—“Land of Many Waters”—reminds us that rivers, canals, creeks, and trenches have always shaped our identity. These waterways once powered the sugar industry, with barges carrying sugar cane through networks of trenches that flowed to the Atlantic.

Today, however, too many of these same canals function as dumpsites. In the city and countryside alike, they are choked with household garbage, plastics, and waste. Maintenance is irregular, and the result is an eyesore that diminishes the pride we should feel in our environment.

Yet these waterways should not be seen merely as drains or relics of history. They can be transformed into the foundation of a new kind of national development—spaces that embody civic responsibility, cultural renewal, and lifestyle transformation. Imagine a Georgetown where canals are clean and landscaped, with walkways, cafés, and recreational spaces. Imagine rural trenches restored and repurposed for leisure activities, local tourism, or waterfront businesses.

With thoughtful planning, these waterways can support new enterprises, create jobs, and provide Guyanese with vibrant social spaces that reflect both heritage and modern aspirations. This is not only about infrastructure, it is about civic consciousness.

When people dispose of garbage responsibly, when communities take pride in maintaining shared spaces, when citizens see canals as assets rather than dumping grounds, they practise responsible citizenship. Civic duty extends beyond elections; it includes how we care for the commons that define our daily lives.

A national awareness and clean-up campaign, therefore, should be framed not as a technical exercise, but as part of nation building—educating citizens, mobilising communities and turning civic pride into tangible development.

International examples show that this transformation is possible. Singapore, once plagued by polluted waterways, revitalised its rivers into world-class lifestyle and tourism hubs. Thailand has similarly integrated canal development into both urban design and cultural tourism. Guyana can draw lessons from these experiences, adapting them to our unique context as the Land of Many Waters.

To succeed, however, responsibility must be clearly assigned. Just as Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) are tasked with local governance in other areas, so too must they be fortified with responsibility for waterways. Alongside them, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other relevant national institutions should be mandated to provide oversight, coordination, and expertise.

Together, these agencies can ensure that cleaning, maintaining, and reimagining trenches and canals become part of everyday governance, not an afterthought. It is fortunate that our current President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, brings deep expertise in urban planning and renewal to this moment. His leadership, coupled with the PPP/C government’s track record of physical transformation provides a strong foundation for taking this vision forward. By linking national development policy with community-level responsibility, the government has the opportunity to turn Guyana’s waterways into symbols of pride and progress.

Equally important, such projects can help shift our national conversation away from the ethnic divides that have historically shaped politics. Beautifying and reimagining our waterways is not an Indian or African project, not urban or rural, but a Guyanese project—one that unites people around shared pride and shared benefits. By creating new lifestyle options, new stories of leisure and modernity, and new attractions for international tourism, we generate a culture of belonging and forward-looking identity.

There is also a powerful economic dimension.

At a time when Guyana’s oil wealth dominates the headlines, it is essential that we diversify into other areas that shape the daily lives of citizens and appeal to global visitors.

Canal and river-side development — restaurants, cultural spaces, eco-tours, and waterfront businesses–can complement the oil economy by building a lifestyle and tourism sector that is sustainable, job-creating, and reflective of national pride. In this way, waterways can contribute not only to civic renewal, but also to the balanced economic growth our country requires.

Post-election Guyana must find ways to connect physical development with the transformation of values and culture. Restoring our waterways offers one such pathway. It would allow Guyanese to respect themselves more, to present their country with confidence to the world, and to tell new, beautiful stories about the lives they live by the water.

In this “Land of Many Waters,” it is time we made our waters flow again—not only clean, but rich with civic pride, economic vitality, and national purpose.

Sincerely,
Dr Walter H Persaud