Lack of national pride blamed for unclean communities

Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has expressed concern about the lack of national pride in keeping the country clean.

The country’s streets and countryside have become littered with garbage, which is causing significant environmental damage.

Speaking on the Browne and Browne show on Saturday morning after participating in a clean-up campaign in the Point, the prime minister said that it is clear that many people have lost the sense of pride that once existed among residents in communities across the country.

The issue of indiscriminate littering is of major concern, and the prime minister has observed that people are drinking beer or sodas and then simply tossing the bottles or cans into the gutter, which leads to blocked drains.

He expressed his confusion over such behavior, where littering has become the norm rather than the exception. Furthermore, some homeowners refuse to clean the front of their properties, which has resulted in the growth of bushes and shrubs, causing an eyesore to the overall aesthetics of the community.

According to PM Browne, keeping one’s property and in front of their home clean was once seen as a matter of pride, but it seemingly does not exist anymore.

During the clean-up campaign, the prime minister had to go into private properties to pick up litter as some people are not doing it themselves. He noted that littering with plastic bags can end up in the mangrove and help to kill the trees in the mangrove areas.

Unfortunately, some of the persons who are first in line to complain whenever a development project is proposed, where the mangroves are involved, are the same people who litter the environment.

The prime minister urged the public to do better and take pride in keeping the country clean.

It is important to understand that littering is not just an eyesore but also a serious environmental issue that can cause long-term damage to the country.