A fresh coat of paint may be all that is needed to give capital city Kingstown a more dignified look.{{more}}

That’s the opinion of Chief Executive Officer of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority Glen Beache, who spoke on the physical appearance of Kingstown at a press conference last week.

The former Minister of Tourism said that although there are a number of areas that are in need of some improvement, business places and proprietors have a role to play in the city’s upkeep.

“I think the problem with Kingstown is the buildings… is that what they need is a coat of paint, and that will spruce up the city so much more…. Yes Kingstown does have some dirt, but… I believe that all we need is a coat of paint on a lot of these buildings throughout Kingstown. I think that is what’s needed.”

Beach indicated that in the past, a number of tourists had returned to their cruise ships after getting a first look at the Upper Bay Street area, which he said was ‘not an inviting scene’.

He noted that a number of business places in the immediate area have taken or promised to take some action to beautify the area.

“I think what Save A Lot has done, and I think the Ministry (of Tourism) is doing some painting to spruce it up; and I think Sunset was supposed to be putting up some stickers to make their cylinder a bit better, and I think NIS want to do something with their parking lot to make it more appealing.”

The CEO also called on individuals and other business owners to play their part in keeping the capital clean and litter free, by dumping garbage in the appropriate places and beautifying their surroundings.

“I think a lot of us have to take pride in our own capital…. Because even in Heritage Square where Penny Bank used to be, that’s an eyesore now, and if you’re not going to do anything with it, I would like to see maybe they could plant some grass there until maybe they decide what to do with it; but to just have that galvanize up, it’s kind of an eyesore in that part of Kingstown.”

“…. If you speak to CWSA, they are going to tell you that every time you put down litter bins what you find happening is that businesses in Kingstown tend to bring out their garbage at night and leave them there instead of paying for private disposal.”

“And there is also a lot of time I buy a coke by Save A Lot and walking through Kingstown; Kingstown is a ‘two by four’ city. You tell me I can’t wait til I get back to my office or wait til I get home to throw a coke can?”

Beache said that apart from these issues, capital Kingstown compared to a other Caribbean cities he has visited is not as dirty, but in any case “Dirty is dirty.”(JJ)