Call issued for prosecution of litter bugs by AG

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, is not pleased with the actions of
litter bugs in villages on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), as such he issued a call for such
persons to be prosecuted.
“It is the residents who are doing this, they have made this embankment of the canal, a public
garbage heap, and we cannot continue like this, that is why the police and the relevant NDC of
the locality are being encouraged to institute criminal charges against those who are littering. It is
a criminal offence,” Nandlall said during a clean-up exercise on Sunday. The Minister, who was
also present during the clean up on the ECD on Saturday, noted that the garbage eventually ends
up in the canal, which blocks the drainage system and causes flooding.
Nandlall at Enterprise village observed the extent of the garbage situation there. He pointed out
that garbage receptacles are important at the household level, noting that some will be placed at
strategic locations. “What you are seeing here, obviously is the height of recklessness,
callousness and irresponsibility. They dump this and now these young people volunteering, got
to pick up their garbage, that’s not fair, at no level is that fair,” Nandlall said.
He continued, “This type of behaviour will not be tolerated and persons are going to be put
before the courts for littering, and I hope that the courts will impose appropriate penalties,
because that is the only way that we will begin a deterrence against this type of irresponsibility.”
Meanwhile, persons who participated in the clean-up exercise also issued a call for an end to
littering.
“It would be an ongoing exercise until the community is completely clean, but while we are
doing that, we are also going to advise the community that we want them to help we keep this
place in the manner that we are going to leave it after we finish, we don’t want them to litter,”
Lokendra Persaud of Enterprise said. “We are here to do a clean-up campaign, to keep our place
clean and we are asking everyone to keep this piece, let this stop, we have something, through it
in the garbage and let we have a beautiful Guyana,” Shakila Haniff another volunteer said.
Meanwhile, Ayube Mohammed disclosed that the clean-up effort will continue in the various
communities on the East Coast. “This is a continuous drive, it’s not gonna be a one off
something, it’s gonna be something that is continuous and it has to be maintained by the citizens
with assistance from the NDC and other agencies. We are on a push to ensure that our
communities are clean and healthy and the environment is conducive to healthy living,”
Mohammed said. Nandlall met volunteers in Better Hope, Success, Annandale, Enterprise, and
Golden Grove. The clean-up exercise is part of a national clean up initiative by government.