President Dr. Irfaan Ali led another national cleanup exercise on Saturday and despite improvements seen across Guyana, he said that the government will now focus on enforcement efforts to ensure that the country remains clean.
This massive campaign was initiated this year by the President and has been supported by the local private sector.
Though thousands of people have since joined the campaign, the indiscriminate dumping of garbage and other waste remains a problem. As such, Dr. Ali believes enforcement is crucial.
“After this segment of the national cleanup campaign, we’ll have to focus heavily on enforcement.
“We have given enough time, enough education programmes, so enforcement is going to become a major part of it,” the Head of State told reporters when he took a break from helping to clean up a section of Vlissengen road on Saturday morning.
He also said that future cleanup efforts will see the government seriously examining how the country’s drainage system can be improved. Consistent drainage woes in the capital city of Georgetown have contributed to flooding.
President Ali was joined on Saturday by Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, members of the Cabinet, Chief of Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess and Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Paul Cheong among others.
The Prime Minister stressed that each individual must, at the very least, keep their environs clean. He also called on City Mayor Ubraj Narine to help with cleanup efforts across Georgetown, commenting that more of Guyana’s rural areas are cleaner than the capital city.
Meanwhile, Cheong was keen on noting that these cleanup efforts must be sustained since cleanliness contributes to healthier living.
