“New culture needed in waste disposal” – Persaud

By Michael Younge

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud said a new multi-stakeholder approach was needed to effectively tackle the solid waste management crisis and garbage situation in Georgetown.
Persaud was at the time speaking during Television Guyana’s ‘Under the Microscope’ programme last Saturday, as he expressed dissatisfaction with the pile-up of garbage in several parts of the capital, which also pose a threat to the country’s environmental scorecard.
He said it was time for the various agencies concerned to get their acts together, noting that all Guyanese and stakeholders have a role to play in promoting a healthy and environmentally friendly capital city, which would be in line with the ideology of government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.

New culture
Minister Persaud was adamant that there was need for a new culture to be developed which would see Guyanese demonstrating more responsibility with respect to waste disposal and sustainability of the environment.
“It is about inculcating what we Guyanese do well and have been doing… and to recognise that we have the responsibility to utilise our resources properly,” the minister advocated, as he called on the City Council to play a lead role in bringing together the various stakeholders to address the problem.
Persaud said the administration has continuously lent support to the council, which he described as not being able to manage the affairs of the city properly. He argued that the new multi-stakeholders forum was necessary, as the response of the primary agency responsible was “less than sufficient and inadequate”. He pledged the ministry’s support towards piloting various programmes to build capacity on proper environmental advocacy and support.
He noted that the Donald Ramotar administration was extremely concerned that the culture of improper and indiscriminate waste disposal in the city was becoming even more pervasive at a time when Guyana continues to receive international accolades for its environmental stewardship. He also pointed to gains being made in the promotion of domestic, regional, and international tourism which has led to an influx of visitors.
“All this could be undermined if we don’t fix this problem,” Minister Persaud reasoned, as he reiterated the need for all stakeholders to ‘grab the bull by its horns’ to return Georgetown to its ‘garden city’ status.
Persaud hailed the successes recorded by government’s “Pick It Up Campaign”, one of the ministry’s policies aimed at putting the spotlight on the solid waste problem, while encouraging Guyanese to do more to arrest the wanton dumping of garbage.
He said the campaign has been rolled out not only in Georgetown, but along the coast and other districts of the country, even the various mining areas.