Latest update February 4th, 2025 9:06 AM
City Council begins clean-up with government money
With money recently provided by the government, the Mayor and City Council has launched a massive campaign to restore Georgetown to its former resplendent glory.
Commencing on Monday, workers attached to the Council began cleaning the Cummingsburg area.
Gregory Erskine, the recently appointed City Engineer, told this newspaper that the campaign will supplement the ongoing work that is part of the Council’s mandate.
“The government has allocated $120M for some enhancement work within Georgetown and this is to assist the City Council. We would have ongoing works in Georgetown as well. So this is part of the first phase we are starting,” Erskine said.
Workers attached to the Mayor and City Council desilt a drain on Cummings Street.
He said that Cummingsburg was chosen for the commencement of the programme after an assessment, which involved condition surveys.
The scope of work under the programme involves the clearing of drains, grading of parapets, patching of roads with the assistance of the Ministry of Public Works, who will be providing the bituminous material as well as tree-trimming and restoration work to several bridges.
The removal of all derelict vehicles from the Council reserves as well as unauthorized structures is part of the programme.
“In terms of derelict buildings, what we will do is have the building section, the Building Inspectors, they will come out and identify all derelict buildings, issue notices to the owners and subsequently we will proceed to dismantle them,” the City Engineer told Kaieteur News.
The Building Inspectors will also be serving notices to persons who continue to leave building waste on the parapets, which according to City Council officials is one of the reasons for the clogged up drainage system in the city.
This newspaper observed that most of the stuff desilted from the drains consisted of sand and other builders’ waste.
Erskine pointed out that those persons who are sprucing up their respective parapets, while it is acceptable, should first seek the approval of the Council.
“Once they make the necessary application, we will come out, look at the case and then give the approval once we see it fit,” Erskine explained.
Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer of the M&CC said that the Council will begin a series of community meetings aimed at reminding citizens of their role in the upkeep of the city.
“It is to consult with the citizens where the works are to be carried out and encourage them to play a greater role in helping us not only to shaping the work and benefiting from out but also in sustaining the work,” King explained.
The meetings will be graced by the presence of Mayor Hamilton Green and other senior Council officials.
According to King, some of the problems being experienced by the Council are community related, such as littering and improper disposal of waste by citizens.
He said that the Council will be intensifying its campaign against littering.
“It is the single most worrying problem in the city. It is making the city look ugly; it is embarrassing all of us and we need to work on it. The City Constabulary will definitely be on board as well as the public health department. They will be checking to make sure that people have the appropriate garbage disposal receptacles on their premises as required by the law and we will serve them with notices where those receptacles are not available on their premises,” the M&CC spokesman said.
He said that the Council is very optimistic that citizens will understands what it is trying to do, since everyone is a stakeholder in the process.
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