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Fellow Citizens, many problems average, ordinary people cannot help to solve. The problem of littering, though, is a major issue that all of us can do something about. In this article, I will discuss how we can do that, and why we must do it.
Our capital city, Georgetown, could and should be a much more beautiful, healthy, and pleasant place to live, work, and visit. Sadly, our capital — known as the Garden City — is looking less like a garden, and increasingly like a dump site. I do not want to live in a dump, and I am certain that everyone reading this feels the same way.
We all know what litter is. Litter is waste products that have been discarded incorrectly at a wrong location. To litter means to drop and leave any object most often cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes, or plastic bottles on the ground. Sometimes, large objects such as old TVs, fans, and so on are also discarded improperly, which is also litter.
Litter is ugly; it makes our city look dirty, and visitors may be well justified in wondering, what sort of people would create such a filthy environment and live in it. Litter makes our city, and our residents, look bad.
In November 2021, the Council proposed for the regulations to be implemented. The council proposed Littering By-Laws that fines for violators be no less than $35,000 but not more than $500,000. Failure to pay the fine shall attract an additional fine of $10,000 for every 24 hours payment remains outstanding.
The Council proposed, too, that the system for penalising offenders be updated to a ticketing system so that a long court process in our already overworked courts is avoided entirely. Under that system, an offender could pay the fine on the spot.
The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration rejected the Council’s proposal. Local government Minister — even after amendments were proposed by the Minister—stated that his government will not approve the updated by-laws because the Municipal Council is not enforcing the present regulations, while there are no present regulations. What the Minister of Local Government did not mention is the fact that every effort by the Council to improve Georgetown in any way is vehemently opposed and stymied by the PPP regime.
Citizens, it is not my intention to impose any additional burdens on the people of the City of Georgetown. However, it must be recognized that littering itself is imposing hardships on everyone, and we all need to stop it.
Any sort of litter is a problem. The experts say that the biggest littering issue is caused by cigarette butts; some 4.5 trillion butts are discarded every year worldwide. Each butt can take 400 years to degrade. Cigarette butts release dangerous chemicals such as arsenic that find their way into our groundwater.
Discarded tyres, tins, and other water-holding objects are breeding grounds for mosquitoes that spread malaria, yellow fever, dengue, and other diseases. Garbage dumped on parapets attract disease-bearing rats and cockroaches. In all cases, the litter ends up in drainage canals, and when it rains, the clogged canals cannot get rid of the water; flooding adds more misery to our already stressful lives.
Citizens, as I’ve said, all of us — working together — can bring an end to this problem. From my end, the Council will continue to provide public garbage bins. As your Mayor, I will continue to do my part. All I ask is that we all contribute to a litter-free capital city. None of us need to dump garbage on the parapets or toss food boxes through car windows or carelessly dispose of electrical appliances on the City’s parapets.
Fellow Citizens, you will recall how clean and beautiful Georgetown was after the David Granger administration came to power in 2015 and launched the biggest clean-up in our City’s history. Sadly, all of the gains we made in those days are being lost under the PPP regime. Let us remember, though, that Georgetown is our City; we have the power and the duty to keep it pleasantly healthy and beautiful; no one can stop us from doing that. I urge you all to use that power to put an end to the littering problem.
