By: Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News |
Despite Guyana’s reputation as the fastest-growing economy in the region, families in several communities continue to grapple with extreme poverty. One such area is Broad Street in Charlestown, where residents live amid overflowing garbage, deteriorating wooden structures, clogged drains, and stagnant water—conditions many describe as a humanitarian emergency.
During an outreach visit, Dr. Tren Campbell, the parliamentary lead for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), said he was alarmed by what he encountered. He immediately mobilized the Mayor and City Council, securing trucks, a bobcat, and eventually an excavator to assist with a full-scale cleanup.
“Immediately, I was moved that we had to do something about what was clearly a disaster,” Dr. Campbell said. “Giving people land may not necessarily solve their problem. We need to be more imaginative in addressing housing in Guyana. Land alone is not the answer—especially for those afflicted by poverty.”
Dr. Campbell emphasized that Broad Street faces both a garbage crisis and a housing crisis, with many residents living in cramped, unsafe structures built on unstable land.
Simon Broomes, leader of the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP), joined the cleanup and praised APNU for taking the lead. He argued that the government should have intervened long before conditions deteriorated.
“This program that you see happening here—for me, this is what the government should be doing. Nevertheless, we are here,” Broomes stated.
The cleanup exercise, a joint effort between APNU and ALP, resulted in sand filling, the erection of new wooden structures, and the removal of large piles of garbage into a skid bin and compactor. However, Nightly News also observed multiple homes in severe disrepair, with drains blocked and water stagnant—posing health risks to the community.
Local leaders say the initiative is only the beginning and that more sustained intervention is needed to address poverty, housing insecurity, and public health hazards in Broad Street.
