I SENT down several columns advocating for special attention to be paid to the maintenance of law and public order. The reasoning is simple: lessons from centuries of economic history, theory, and empiricism are unequivocal and indubitable; public order and respect for laws and institutions cannot be separated from development and improvement in quality of life. That is to say, development and public order are Siamese twins; they are inextricable and tend in the same direction. Economic gains and accumulated national wealth could be retarded or wiped out through public disorder. So, I am an advocate for public order.
One area of public disorder that needs urgent attention is the issue of noise nuisance. We have laws on the books, albeit some old ones, that are being flouted in the most crude and uncivilised manner, tele-transporting us to the proverbial “Wild Wild West.” I always believe that any effort to check the noise nuisance must be government led. So, I was heartened when I heard the issue mentioned by President Ali at his recent press conference. I get the impression that he wants this issue on the front burner. This is a long time coming and no time should be wasted. I have faith in President Ali; I will place my bets that his utterances were not just a “talk shop.” So I am on board 100 percent.
This issue is near and dear to me. While working at the Ministry of Home Affairs 2015-2016, by far, the most common public complaint coming to the ministry were issues surrounding noise pollution and seeming enforcement sloth. On my instigation and insistence with then Minister Ramjattan, I asked to coordinate a task force on noise nuisance with the aim of arriving at a permanent solution. The task force included a rep each from The Mayor and City Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Guyana Police Force, the Standards Bureau, and one or two other agencies. I subsequently left to do some studies in China and the programme died.
I would briefly restate some of the prescriptions I intended. I also wish to use this space to advocate similar approaches. The programme should include appropriate legal reforms to make the application of the law more pragmatic and enforceable; a central searchable database for noise-nuisance reporting; when a report is made, all the relevant agencies will be notified, with offences documented together with actions taken; the GNBS to develop a national standard on noise containment for discos, night clubs, churches and other in-house sources of noise. The said standard will have advice on soundproofing materials (including local materials) and suggested appropriate building designs; government backs that up to assist with the transition from noisy bars to appropriate soundproofing by removing VAT and other taxes on soundproofing materials; start a noise-nuisance ticketing system similar to traffic tickets; in that way, when the police are called to a location, instead of simply warning the perpetrator and leaving, the officer can issue a ticket; for one-off celebrations such as weddings and other ceremonies, even with normal permission for amplified sound, there must be a requirement to notify all neighbours who stand to be affected; for the youths who find entertainment in those pop-up open-air car-park parties, special noise fields can be created away from residential zones to accommodate this pastime with appropriate control and security mechanisms.
Long story short, I am super enthused that the president has signalled his interest in setting this right. This monkey has been on our backs for way too long. Though overdue, it is not too late to silence those motorcycles specifically modified to jar the senses or those mega stereo systems crammed into cars and minibuses. It is time to silence those noisy machine shops in the middle of residential zones, those noisy residential speaker boxes, and those clashing cymbals, tambourines, and megaphones emanating from some worship places.
Together with my enthusiasm to support this programme advocated by the president, I have one major oppression that I will advise the president to guard against and put mitigating policies in place. There are some culprits who are well placed in society and have “contacts” in the government and law enforcement. There will be the temptation to turn a blind eye, to give a chance, or to make accommodations. There has to be an evenhanded application of the rules.
I advocate for a comprehensive national initiative to curb and reorient our value system with a view to thwart this culture of lawlessness that pervades every aspect of society. As a nation, the longer we dabble in this culture of non-adherence to existing mechanisms for public order, the longer we spend on the benches of underdevelopment. This will be an uncomfortable but necessary process, but we must bite the bullet and eradicate this blight, once and for all.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.