–President Ali announces, launches national urban plan

OUTLINING a clearly defined strategy to transform Guyana’s capital city, Georgetown, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has announced the launch of ‘Rescue Georgetown,’ a city revival plan for sustainable urban development.
During a press conference on Tuesday, President Ali acknowledged  the city’s longstanding challenges, including mismanagement and inefficiency at the municipal level and declared that the current state of affairs could “no longer be tolerated.”
He announced the launch of a comprehensive city revival plan, developed with the support of the Kings Foundation, aimed at restoring Georgetown’s status as a source of national pride.
Over the past five years, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure projects across the city, including upgrades to drainage systems, roads, and public spaces, effectively stepping in where a cash-strapped Georgetown Mayor and City Council  (GM&CC)  failed.
“We believe that it is time for us as citizens, as a country, to take charge of this situation. And I want to launch from the government work in advancing the rescue of Georgetown.”
These efforts, President Ali said, are part of a broader national strategy for sustainable urban development, with Georgetown as the focal point.
“Implementation begins in Georgetown and its surrounding region, the country’s largest urban area, where major investments since 2020 have included highways, range upgrades, and a high-span bridge over the Demerara River. These efforts are helping to drive economic growth and improve quality of life and are complemented by large-scale expansion of service housing loss to meet growing demand,” he said.
The government’s vision for Georgetown is rooted in the city’s identity as the “Garden City” and heart of the country, with a focus on green infrastructure, climate resilience, and the celebration of cultural heritage.
“We therefore are going to work aggressively on ensuring that this identity is recreated and expanded and that our city tells a story of this identity, the story of Georgetown history, heritage, and built environment.”
He explained that the wider vision for Georgetown set out in the low carbon development strategy (LCDs) will see 15 flagship demonstration projects  being advanced.
These will include the highlighting of the city’s architectural history, constructing  a walking trail along the city, which will lead to the historic transport building and train station, transforming it into a museum and training centre, as well as immediate works on the Stabroek waterfront and improvements to markets and shopping areas.
“This plan involves embracing the waterways.  Georgetown’s drainage canals are our core infrastructure supporting both management and the city’s unique landscape. Therefore, we will be working on the enhancement of all of these drainage canals in a touristic manner so that they form part of the story that we want to be told about Guyana and the city itself,” he explained.
Already the First Lady’s office has led efforts to beautify both urban and rural areas across the country, leading to a rise in greener, cleaner, and more family-friendly spaces.
President Ali reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to making Georgetown “one of the finest capital cities in the world,” with plans for further development in surrounding areas and a focus on low-carbon, sustainable growth.

BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE
President Ali also highlighted the importance of public education and behavioural change, noting that new educational programmes will help citizens and visitors appreciate the city’s history and contribute to its upkeep.
To this end, he noted that there will be stricter enforcement being applied to ensure persons are held accountable for destructive behaviour.
“Enforcement will be a critical part of the strategy, but we have to first build the infrastructure whilst you do some amount of enforcement. But we have to have a phased approach—the soft, medium, and hard,” he explained.

He, however, stressed that public education and a clear communication strategy will be critical at this stage.
In  summary, the framework key priorities are to protect the city’s character while enabling sustainable growth, deliver housing infrastructure and communities for growth, reduce traffic congestion and promote sustainable transport, protect and enhance heritage, identity, and character, improve sanitation, cleanliness, and waste management, build resilience to flooding, heat, and climate events, restore urban landscape and green space, and enhance experience and support sustainable tourism.
He stressed that collaboration among all stakeholders will be key in bringing these efforts to life.
“We are now progressing with a clearly defined plan for the city, the private sector, and every stakeholder, of course, the mayor and city council, and every stakeholder would be part of advancing these plans, our education system, the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Tourism, and Industry and Commerce. All will play a critical role in advancing this transformation of our city,” the President said.