President Ali leads “operation clean-up” of Georgetown

January 15, 2022

– police presence, cameras to deter illegal dumping

– hints at ‘once a month’ clean-up nationally

The clean-up of Georgetown began on Saturday morning, led by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali. Close to 1000 people comprising ranks of the joint services, members of the private sector and combined agencies, all collaborated as part of “Operation Clean Up.”

President Ali in brief comments said, “the responsibility resides in all of us to make the difference, and we are starting from the city itself. What you are seeing here is just the tip of the iceberg.”

The Head of State was accompanied by Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, other Ministers of government and members of the Diplomatic Corps.

The President noted that based on assessments there are about 25 sites that are badly in need of cleaning. With that, President Ali said the clean-up of the city which continues on Sunday is not a one-off exercise. One of the aims of this initiative, he said, is to raise awareness to create a better city for all.

After the clean-up is done, there will be mechanisms put in place to ensure the city remains wholesome.

“We are going to put police presence at these sites where people continuously dump their garbage. Those who do this are worse than the garbage itself because they have no regard for the environment, they have no regard for each of us that lives in this country because it becomes a public health issue.”

“It is time start calling people out. So, while the police will be out here, the government will be working on cameras to be installed at specific locations because some of it is deliberate in action. So, we are working on cameras to get these persons who continue to deface our country and put us in a negative light,” President Ali said.

Added to that, President Ali said the government is working on number of plans related to urban renewal. The government intends to create a city that is family oriented and has safe zones for leisure activities.

“We have set ourselves a very ambitious target and that is to finish one section of the walkway that we want to create on Lamaha Street. The intention is to carry that walkway from Main Street, down the Lamaha embankment,” he said.

“Much more than that, we want to recreate where the train station was as a hub. So, what we will be doing, we will be restoring that area and that area will be used like a ‘Guyana Breakfast shed.’ We are working to restore the wooden building into an art gallery,” the Head of State further added.

Durey Lane among other areas has been identified to be developed into a safe space. The initiative, President Ali said is the building of a new culture on the way people treat the environment but stressed that it can only be done in unity.

“At the end of the exercise around the country, I am hoping that from the level of Cabinet we can lead an effort once every month when all of us can set aside two hours from our time nationally and we will come out and clean the pathway, embankment or reserve in front of our homes,” President Ali stated.

The Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, and Regional Democratic Councils will all be involved. The President said while the clean-up of the city is seen as a soft exercise, it still has a critical impact on the way the people live as a country.