A city in a sea

Mar 30, 2026 Editorial, News

(Kaieteur News) – It rained for hours on Saturday, from overnight into the morning, then almost throughout the afternoon. The city and its outskirts became a flat sea, with the regular occurring. Pants rolled up, shoes in hand, vehicles slowed to a crawl.

They do so to avoid a stall, left marooned in a grey landscape of water and more water. Endless stretches of water encroaching on dry land and slightly higher ground that was harder to find by the stride, from moment to moment. Few were the Guyanese in Georgetown and farther abroad that escaped the wet, soaking, clutching fingers of Saturday’s downpours that drenched citizens and animals in a chilly second bath, left them shivering, with some raging in frustration.

Excess rainfall is said to be the culprit, the one that showered the city like a liquid meteor. An onslaught of drops that combined to become an ocean barely navigable. The fearful were hoping that their steps did not come into contact with a pothole or an edge, for then it would be down and over. A wet embarrassment to add to an already challenging beginning. It was that kind of ordeal for many on Saturday gone, with more of the same in the forecast.

Did all of this have to happen, so much of it, and for so long? When First Oil struck Guyana, among the first thoughts that struck Guyanese were that their showcase to an arriving world would be proper prioritisation of the restoration of Georgetown. A Georgetown that is decayed, a city that smells from a variety of odors, a town through which so many passthrough, ought to have been a project that had to be at the top of the list to be addressed with urgency and resolve.

The longer the nation’s capital stayed neglected, the more dilapidated it grew, as if on some destructive brand of steroids. When the drains clog up and the garbage accumulates, the rats emerge from their lairs and takeover. The physical evidence is present, the human toll known by those who experience its many aspects, some physical, some financial. Yet the state of the capital was allowed to languish because of lack of interest, lack of priority, and lack of will. Ironically, the one ingredient that was always a problem because it was scarce was now not a problem, i.e., there is no lack of money.

There is, however, no shortage of finger pointing and engaging in the blame game, which is what politicians are among the best at doing. When there is no acknowledgement, there is little interest in fixing what plunges the capital into a deep hole. It was already below sea-level to begin with, and when Central Government constantly finds fault with City Government, and vice versa, the inevitable result is a bigger vacuum created. There is some truth to the contentions of both sides, but that doesn’t do one bit of good, or a sliver of anything that’s helpful, for those who operate in the capital daily and, worse, those who live in it.

From stray dogs in packs to rats racing openly across many city streets, the fears multiply. And when it rains, citizens that have anything to do with their capital holdoff and wait for a better day, if they have that luxury, before venturing into the city. Sightseers and other travelers, especially those drawn from foreign lands to Guyana, due to its world-class oil wealth, must shrink in horror at what they encounter, and that’s on a dry day. For a better capital, leaders in Central Government and City Government must have the self-pride and wisdom to start over and try again. Guyanese are owed a national capital in which they can take pride, one where foreigners are suitably impressed and leave with good memories. A place of vitality, a city that is representative of a country powered by oil, a people that knows how to get things done.

The trouble with leaders is that no sooner one dispute and argument is done than a dozen more are waiting their turn for them to take another punch at the other. Thus, the wealth is wasted, time is lost, and an undersea city emerges.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

City, Editorial, flooding, heavy rain, sea

Latest News

A city in a sea

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Similar Articles

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Listen to the The Glenn Lall Show

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Massy Distributions U-18 Schools Football C’ship… Organiser...

VIEW ALL SPORTS

Features/Columnists

Explanations and excuses

Sir. Ronald Sanders

The Cost of Silence: How the OAS is Undermining its Own Relevance

The GHK Lall Column

Routledge rover and quicksilver

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

> Berbice Bridge […]