GEORGETOWN, Guyana — A $350 million land-clearing project is underway at Le Repentir Cemetery, where nearly 100 small contractors have been deployed to remove dense overgrowth and restore order to one of Georgetown’s most neglected public spaces. The work is expected to be completed within four to six weeks.
The cleanup is the latest phase in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration’s wider national beautification and enhancement programme, which aims to rehabilitate cemeteries, public reserves, and other community spaces across the country. The condition of Le Repentir had been a recurring source of public frustration and a subject of debate in the 12th Parliament, where concerns were raised about years of unmanaged vegetation, illegal dumping, flooding, and deteriorating tombs.
Plans for the cemetery’s revitalisation were detailed earlier this year by Minister of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill, who outlined a series of interventions intended to reverse longstanding neglect and restore dignity to the grounds. Several of those measures are now taking shape. The main access roads and internal roadways have been rehabilitated and fenced, while extensive drainage improvements are ongoing along the perimeter in tandem with the current vegetation-clearing activities.
The project follows intensified government efforts in recent months to tackle dumping, prevent encroachment, and ensure the cemetery is properly secured. Authorities have said these works align with a broader push to modernise Georgetown’s urban landscape and improve the capital’s public infrastructure.
Minister Edghill believes the scale and pace of the current interventions will significantly improve the state of the cemetery, long regarded as an eyesore. He said the ultimate goal is to transform the site into a clean, respectable, and well-maintained public space comparable to similar facilities in more developed countries.
The initiative is one component of a more expansive citywide upgrade, which includes rehabilitating drainage systems, renewing roads, and restoring green spaces across Georgetown.
(Extracted and modified from DPI)