-as 13th National Clean-Up Campaign commences

-by Celestine Chacon

Amid the 13th nationwide cleanup exercise, the government is also calling on Guyanese to clean up their mindset and practice cleaner waste disposal habits.

The initiative is being led by His Excellency President Dr. Irfan Ali, alongside members of the cabinet as part of a continued push to create a cleaner and healthier Guyana.

From as early as 6 AM, cabinet ministers and teams were deployed across the country, actively supporting efforts to restore communities. Streets, parapets and public spaces were targeted as part of the nationwide exercise, aimed at improving the overall environment. 

Former Mayor of Georgetown Patricia Chase-Green, now serving as City Councillor, described the campaign as a decisive move by the government to address long-standing neglect under the APNU-controlled City Council. 

“If you ask them when last they would have done cleaning up a drain, they can’t answer you. If you ask them when they would have done patching a road, they can’t answer you, because they have done none within years. If you ask when last they would have cleaned a cemetery, that was so many years ago. And so therefore, all these responsibilities under the law, that they argue so much about the law and the law, they have not fulfilled their obligations. And the government is once again stepping in to help,” she noted.

Other government officials, including Minister within the Ministry of Local Government Pauline Sukhai and Director General Anand Persaud urged Guyanese to shift their mindset. They noted that while the clean-up campaign is a critical step, lasting change requires a cultural shift in how citizens approach cleanliness and environmental responsibility.

“With the state of development and transformation that is taking place in this country, I want to urge the citizens, urge everyone, from the child to the older folks, let us for once take a solid oath and to ensure as of today we dispose of our garbage properly,” DG Persaud said.

Minister Sukhai added, “Our president has always been in the forefront to ensure that Guyana remains a clean country and we expect citizens to follow suit so that we will have national pride in our country,”

Also joining the efforts was Guyana’s Abassador to Belgium and Non-Resident Ambassador to the Netherlands Sasenarine Singh, who commended the clean-up initiative.

“Historically, Guyana has always been an extremely clean place. This city is known as the garden city, as you know, and there’s deliberate efforts being made to restore it to that. As you can see, all the constructions that are happening along many of the avenues to bring back the yesteryear beauty. You could see the seawall project that First Lady Aria Ali has developed. There is all these facilities being developed to take Guyana or Georgetown particularly to the next level of cleanliness and back to the historical good days of the garden city,” he said.

 As the 2026 national clean-up campaign comes to a close, the gleaming streets bring a renewed sense of freshness and pride. Clean streets and well-maintained carpets create safer spaces for children and allow everyone to live in greater comfort.