The pandemic of disorder

Aug 20, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – In Guyana where the clamor of development rings out like a hopeful hymn, a dissonant note has begun to reverberate through the daily life of its citizens.

This is not the discord of political strife, nor the cacophony of economic despair; rather, it is a quieter, more insidious affliction that creeps unnoticed until its effects are too entrenched to reverse. The spirit of Guyana, once vibrant and hopeful, is being steadily eroded—not by external forces, but by the unchecked proliferation of a new pandemic: the pandemic of disorder.

This disorder, though it may seem benign to some, is no less devastating than the physical ailments that plague societies. It is not a sickness of the body, but of the spirit, manifesting itself in the chaotic sprawl of illegal vending and haphazard business establishments that now encroach upon the very arteries meant to carry the lifeblood of the nation—its roads. Where there should be order, there is now a festering chaos, a creeping malaise that threatens to suffocate the spirit of this nation.

The government, in its ambition to modernize and propel the country into a future of economic vitality and social progress, has poured tens of billions into the construction of four-lane roadways. These roads, gleaming and new, stand as symbols of progress, the physical embodiment of the nation’s aspirations. But no sooner are these roads completed than they are swallowed up by the very disorder they were meant to transcend.

The newly minted extra lanes, intended to ease the flow of traffic and provide safe passage for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians alike, are quickly repurposed as parking spaces for businesses that spring up like weeds along the roadside. What was once a promise of fluid four lanes of movement and modernity is reduced to a congested, two-lane nightmare, where pedestrians and cyclists are forced to navigate a perilous gauntlet of parked cars of customers that patronize businesses and illegal vendors.

Guyanese have a history of improvisation, unmatched anywhere in the world. We could turn discarded materials into a stove. This improvisation was born of necessity in a land where resources have often been scarce, and formal avenues of opportunity, limited. But this tact, once a source of pride and resilience, has now become a double-edged sword. For in the unchecked proliferation of roadside commerce, there lies a dangerous disregard for the rule of law and the good of others. The roads, which should be shared spaces for all, have become battlegrounds where the selfish few stake their claims, indifferent to the disruption and danger they cause.

This is not merely a question of aesthetics, though the unsightly sprawl of makeshift stands and illegal structures is undeniably a blight on the landscape. It is a question of whether we will allow continued disorder to become the defining feature of our public spaces. The soul of Guyana is not just in its people, but in the shared spaces where we come together as a community. When these spaces are hijacked by those who believe they have a right to set up shop wherever they please, the social fabric begins to unravel, thread by thread.

Consider the recent completion of the four-lane Cemetery Road, intended to be a major thoroughfare that would alleviate congestion and provide a modern route through the heart of the city. Even before its completion, the road has seen an alarming increase in the number of caravans, roadside businesses, and illegal vending stands propping up along its edges.

The same has happened to the extension to our lanes of Sheriff Street. Sections of that road, once intended for pedestrians and cyclists, have been overtaken by parked vehicles, effectively reducing the road’s capacity from four lanes to two. The very lanes which were allocated for the safety of the most vulnerable road users—pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists—are now usurped for parking, turning the promise of a modern, efficient roadway into yet another symbol of the disorder that plagues the nation.

On the East Bank of Demerara where two-lane roads are being expanded to four lanes, illegal vending has already began to prop up along these public roadways. Imagine what will happen when these arteries are completed. It will be a free-for-all on the freeway.

The narrowing of public roads due to illegal vending and parking create bottlenecks that lead to traffic accidents, endangering the lives of drivers and pedestrians alike. The clutter of makeshift stalls and permanent structures along the roadways obstructs visibility, turning what should be a safe passage into a minefield of potential hazards. The spirit of the law, which seeks to ensure the safety and well-being of all citizens, is being trampled underfoot by those who see only their immediate gain, oblivious to the broader consequences of their actions.

The proliferation of illegal vending and unchecked business expansion speaks to a deeper malaise within the society—a creeping sense that the rules do not apply, that disorder is not only tolerated but tacitly encouraged. The authorities, overwhelmed or indifferent, often turn a blind eye, allowing the problem to fester and grow. The result is a landscape where the lines between what is legal and illegal, right and wrong, are increasingly blurred. The once vibrant and orderly public spaces that should be the pride of the nation have become contested territories, where the forces of order and chaos are locked in a relentless struggle.

There is a dangerous fallacy at the heart of this disorder, a belief that personal enterprise can, and should, flourish unfettered by the constraints of law or consideration for others. But in a society, freedom cannot exist without responsibility. The right to transact business must be balanced against the right of others to move freely and safely through their city. When one person’s enterprise – whether legal or illegal – infringes upon the freedom of another, disorder ensues, and with it, the slow death of the communal spirit.

The disease of illegal vending and the indiscriminate approval of businesses along major road arteries, unless addressed, will lead to the snuffing out of the soul of this nation. The pandemic in which some persons believe they have a right to set up “shop” wherever they want is at the heart of this malaise. Disorder is now the order of the day. This is not merely the story of a road besieged by vendors and parked cars; it is the story of a nation at a crossroads. Will we allow the spirit of Guyana to be smothered by the pandemic of disorder, or will we stand up and reclaim the spaces that belong to all of us?

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

• disorder, dissonant, Economic, Guyana, illegal, Peeping Tom