Environmental Fund needed to upgrade city

Apr 26, 2010 News

– Mayor Green
City Mayor Hamilton Green has once again expressed dissatisfaction with the way in which many persons continue to wantonly dispose of refuse into canals, drains and on parapets, in and around the city which invariably contributes to flooding.

City Mayor Hamilton Green

According to the Mayor, the indiscipline of citizens is a significant contributor to widespread flooding.
He cited as an example, the fact that there is a lot of construction currently going on around the city, and many of the workers are placing building materials in the drains. He added that Guyanese seem to have a new culture where people are not cooking at home, which often necessitates ‘eating out’, and the plastic and Styrofoam boxes are then disposed of in drains, thus creating severe blockage of waterways, as well as a garbage upsurge.
He admitted that when there is excessive rainfall it is understandable that there will be some degree of flooding.
“The city doesn’t get a single cent from the environmental fund, and we have to remove 200 tons of garbage every day.”
The Mayor disclosed that flooding is sometimes caused by the smallest blockages which affect the flow of water into the Demerara River. The Demerara Bar and channel are not cleaned regularly because of a lack of equipment which creates a condition that compromises the effectiveness of even the pumps and the flow of water outside of Georgetown.
The Chief Citizen revealed that the government needs to give the City Council the new evaluation role, which will allow the council to increase its tax base.
He explained that the law requires that the city be revalued periodically, and the valuation division has failed to give the Council the new valuation role. And since new buildings are being constructed the taxes are supposed to be heightened.
The Council is calling on all persons who operate within the vicinity of the Municipal Market to act responsibly and dispose of garbage in bins, while citizens are reminded that the fine for littering is $10,000.
The government collects some $600M annually as an Environmental Tax on items such as Styrofoam and plastics. Dr Singh said, “The Environmental tax is one source of revenue for the budget… This tax goes into the Consolidated Fund.”