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Why not equip residents with the resources to create a new Albouystown?

Jul 24, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
I write once again to air my concern – this one being the conditions in which I live. My area, Albouystown, is a reflection of a failed society; a society where one can see mansions and exclusive housing schemes being built with the best money can afford.
I see great structures every time I walk around central Georgetown, large beautiful buildings! To some of the locals and those returning or visiting for the first time, this represents “transformation” and “development”. However, take a further drive south to the end of Camp Street; you enter the world I live in. The direct opposite of what you may have witnessed a mere fifteen minutes ago. Every day I see youths in every street ‘liming’ and I see a heavy police presence.
I’m not ignorant to the fact that poverty exists everywhere, neither am I ignorant of our country’s resources to population ratio, or our recent economic growth. I understand that cycles of poverty have resulted in broken homes, generations of serial criminals, high levels of teenage pregnancies, etc. What I don’t understand is why intervention into this seemingly forgotten society must start with direct police intervention?
Why not an economic intervention first? What about equipping the residents with enough resources so that we can start to create a new Albouystown, a better one for our next generation? There was once a factory that made candies, now desolate and abandoned and serves as a visual representation of a decaying community.
Incentives, through lower taxes and/or lower electricity charges, could be given to our private sector to invest in depressed communities like Albouystown. Such an initiative could result in employment for residents and generate income in a community with such needs. This is just a simple suggestion on my part.
I personally hold the view that what is happening here in the community has become a human rights issue. The people are being deprived of proper housing and utilities; there is poor drainage, which results in heavy flooding, and sanitation services are dodgy and inconsistent at best. Currently some of the people in the area, including myself, have developed a series of rashes due to the water being used in the household.  An outbreak is a definite possibility if this continues to be ignored.
I believe that my community can help itself if given the chance. Give the people a chance to actively participate in their affairs so they can stop this cycle of poverty that afflicts them.
So I repeat the call for Local Government Elections, as I feel I am not the only one, nor is Albouystown the only community that feels it stands a better chance of having its concerns heard and acted upon by its own local representatives.
Marvin Wray
Blue CAPS

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