Minister Edghill -M&CC to be blamed for illegal city dumpsites

Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, expressed disappointment with the Georgetown
Mayor and City Council (M&CC) for allowing prominent areas to become illegal dumpsites.
Edghill was among several cabinet members on Sunday, who participated in the massive clean
up campaign organised by the joint services and the private sector, with support from the
government.
The minister observed tons of garbage being pulled out and dumped into trucks from Savage
Street, Georgetown. The road links Robb and Regent Streets. “The volume of garbage that is
here speaks to two things. One; the neglect by the Mayor and City Council, first of all to enforce
and secondly, remove solid waste from the city,” Edghill was quoted as saying in a media
interview.

The public works minister noted that the amount of solid waste removed from the passageway,
was not accumulated over weeks or months. “…this is years of garbage. A pile that is five to six
feet high in the air on a street that is maybe 30 meters long, it (was) allowed to happen with a
constabulary that is enforced [and] with laws that are enforced,” he explained. Edghill issued a
call to citizens to be more responsible and work in unison to ensure the city remains clean.
“Drury Lane, which some 52 truckloads of garbage were removed during Thursday and Friday,
there is garbage there this morning,” he said. He added, “Apart from the neglect of the Mayor
and City Council, we have to have a mind change, a mentality change. People have got to
understand, we have to take responsibility.”
He stressed that Government wants to clear the area to allow drivers plying the East Coast route
to occupy the space. This will allow commuters to traverse the throughfare freely without
encountering traffic congestion.
Meanwhile, a number of residents have called on their fellow Guyanese to take a new approach
to keeping the nation’s roadways and communities clean, as the country moves ahead. Rudolph
Glasgow, travelling from Essequibo, said he is enjoying the city’s new fresh air and urged
persons to desist from littering the environment. “People just have to keep their garbage in their
bags and just don’t litter. it’s just simple, nothing too hard,” Glasgow who is a barber advised.
Chief Executive Officer of Natural Fiber, Fashion and Art Association, Carol Fraser said; “…we
need to do a programme now to change the mindset of our people, our young people and how
they treat our environment.” Everlyn Agard, an overseas based Guyanese, noted that government
should implement serious consequences for persons who are found littering.
“I think they should keep this up and impose penalties for illegal dumping. They’re doing a
wonderful work this morning and I think it should be kept up by the citizens of Guyana,” Agard
declared.