Guyana can become that Second World state of the Caribbean

Dear Editor,
Over the weekend, we saw the Mayor and City Council conducting a demolition and cleaning exercise of the areas around the municipal markets of Georgetown. While some might be elated that the capital city is receiving a long-awaited facelift, I am not in the least impressed by this move.
In the first place, how many times have we gone through this exercise? And the answer is: too numerous to mention. However, with no long-term plan in place, the areas quickly revert to their original state with those vendors crawling back to their usual vending spots.
The point is that when a mayor carries out this political posturing, the end result would be another exercise in futility. Just allow the situation another week or two, and all those vendors would start making their way back to the same location to erect their shanty booths. Those precincts would again be a hub of illegal activities.
Let’s face it: with no present or future plan for the City’s development, one cannot envision any lasting changes being affected there.
Come next week or next month, the usual noise nuisance, traffic congestion, cursing, shouting, stinking effluent would return to those areas right here in downtown Georgetown. Change can come only when the PPP/C take control of Georgetown.
The PPP have already mapped out a long-term solution to the City’s problems. Firstly, rebuild all the municipal markets, so that you can effectively remove the streetside vendors and place them in a proper place for vending. I would also make the proposal – if it is not already there – that these markets be built into modern mall-like structures, where vendors as well as shoppers can conduct their business in a friendly and beautiful ambiance.
Guyana is on its way to being a developing state – the most developed state in the Caribbean. The time to be that modern, Second World state of the Caribbean is now!

Respectfully,
Neil Adams