Bartica To Attain Township Status Next Year

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – More than 170 years after an ordinance was issued by the then British government, President David Granger says Bartica will attain the status of township on April 23, next year.

“I made a promise when I was campaigning and I promised that Bartica will become a town before the 26 May, 2016, the 50th Independence anniversary, in fact, Bartica will be a town on the 23rd April 2016,” he told a public meeting here on Sunday.

He told the meeting that it was on April 23, 178 years ago that the ordinance was made by the colonial government, and his government will make that ordinance into a reality.

Granger urged the residents to make the necessary preparation for township status, adding that Bartica should become the “first green town” in the country.

“I would like you to use the next ten months to make Bartica the most beautiful town in the entire country. There are economic reasons, there are health reasons for that, there are political, social and cultural reasons for that.”

“By a green town I mean that you must look at your energy, stop bringing in diesel and gasoline, let us use wind and sun power…but we have to adopt green energy, and Bartica must be Guyana’s first green town.”

To this end, the President said, the use of Styrofoam and plastic must be minimised while much attention should be given to proper solid waste disposal.

“Let us ensure that energy generation is sustainable, let us ensure that our schools, our hospitals, our clinics, and our homes use green energy, sustainable renewable green energy from sunlight, from the wind.

“So by being a green economy, Bartica will renew itself, sustain itself, and not damage the environment as I see happening now,” President Granger said, making reference to the adverse effects on the environment by human practices which he said still remains the issue of “predatory and rapacious attitude to the exploitation of our resources.”