A NATIONAL Enhancement Committee (NEC) has been launched to help `Nice up Guyana’ in time for the matches scheduled here for World Cup Cricket 2007.
It is urging all Guyanese to join it in efforts to clean-up the country.
In a press release, the committee said it has so far identified five working groups to relate to various aspects of the enhancement effort and support the agencies tasked with responsibilities to ensure the country is prepared and ready to welcome the world.
It’s not going to be easy but as we have noted before, it is time for all Guyanese to rally to the cause of helping the country put on its best face for World Cup 2007.
Getting picked to host some of the World Cup matches was an achievement in itself and all stakeholders have to pull out the stops to ensure the new cricket stadium and everything else is in place for the tournament.
There has been a stirring of fresh national pride in the signal cricketing honour and this can add impetus to the NEC drive.
This is not the first effort of its kind.
A `Nice up Guyana’ campaign launched several years ago to beautify areas along the main East Bank Demerara road between Georgetown and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri did lead to some kind of sprucing up, but not much.
The idea then was to give visitors flying into Guyana a better first impression rather than the backwater scenes of overgrown bushes at the sides of the main road, broken down fences in front of yards, drab-looking buildings along the way and other not so attractive sites.
Organisers of that `Nice up Guyana’ campaign planned to help residents and businesses spruce up their surroundings to give a warmer welcome to visitors coming through the airport.
An effort was made but that did not last long and did not lead to the overall picture envisaged at the launching and the drive from the airport to Georgetown still leaves a lot to be desired.
That’s the problem with campaigns of this kind – the efforts are not sustained and sooner or later the fiery enthusiasm that lights up launching ceremonies wanes and the bad old ways reappear.
Hosting the World Cup matches though is a matter of national pride and this alone should be fillip enough to sustain the fresh clean-up campaign the NEC has in mind.
Not many people would want to live behind fences overgrown with bushes and in drab-looking house, especially along main highways and roads. But some would need help in repairing fences and sprucing up their buildings and the committee may have to assist some along the way in the `nice up’ push.
In recent letters to the press, writers deeply upset about the rundown state of the city have suggested the use of prisoners and the Army in helping to restore Georgetown to its `Garden City’ status, and the municipal and other authorities have to examine these and other ways of giving it a much-needed facelift.
The erection of the stadium and the new four-lane highway along the East Bank Demerara would do much to improve the aesthetics of that area but the NEC has its work cut out to make its campaign meaningful.
It’s a daunting task given the mammoth work and responsibilities involved but tapping into the innate goodwill of most Guyanese would do much to help it achieve its goal.
The objectives are laudable and we wish all those involved much success in the immense job ahead.