GARBAGE collection across Georgetown will now be done once every fortnight instead of the previous twice weekly and this will continue in the near future unless something “drastic” happens, City Council Solid Waste Management Director, Mr. Hubert Urling, announced yesterday.
At a press conference hosted by Mayor Hamilton Green at City Hall, Urling said, since Monday, the municipality has been working to establish the fortnightly collection which will be undertaken with equipment assistance from Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). He said maintenance of equipment would be a problem but promised that the media will be advised about the collection schedule.
Citizens have been charged $71 for removal of garbage from their premises once weekly but Deputy Mayor Robert Williams said the fee may have to be increased, once the new landfill site at Haags Bosch, East Bank Demerara, becomes operational later this year.
Mr. Green said, in relation to wages and salaries, municipal workers are also in peril but he refuted a statement by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Kellawan Lall, that the municipality is overstaffed with 900 employees.
Green conceded, though, that administrative problems exist and that, even if all outstanding taxes are paid, the council would still not have enough funds to rectify all the things plaguing the municipality.
He said the council found nothing but excellent cooperation from the Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy during the current waste disposal crisis.
Green said an examination, conducted over the past weekend, found that more garbage is coming from outside the city limits.
He said although many are unhappy with the practice of burning it, if the circumstances and environment are safe, then “it is not a bad idea to reduce garbage by burning.”
“I believe in the concept of cooperation and working together. It would be an act of stupidity for any mayor to act as though he does not need cooperation from Central Government,” Green remarked, adding that President Bharrat Jagdeo’s recent remark that the City Council lacks vision is “inaccurate.”
Green declared that, from the time he took office, a vision for the city was articulated and, while several efforts to garner additional revenue were made, none was met with favour.
Clearly exasperated with this latest garbage disposal crisis swamping City Hall, President Jagdeo on Friday signalled that the government has no alternative but to help out a “visionless City Council.”
“We will have to continue to help,” he told reporters, adding that the relevant Cabinet ministers have been told to be as helpful as possible.
“…but we are just tired of this sort of nitpicking and lack of focus” in City Hall, he said at a press conference at the Office of the President complex.
Garbage has been piling up in some sections of the city because contracted collection companies owed monies have stopped services.
President Jagdeo pointed out that the government has spent billions of dollars in maintaining the city — fixing roads, cleaning parapets, paying to collect garbage, cleaning canals, putting in new drainage pumps, digging outfalls and other projects.
The city cannot be neglected, and an important section of the population lives in the capital, he stated, adding that “often what happens in the city is a reflection of what’s taking place in the country.”
Mr. Jagdeo pointed to the construction boom in the city, and said there has been an “explosion in requests for permits for new buildings.”
It is a growing city, with the private sector putting up better, nicer buildings and more modern facilities, but unfortunately, this is not matched by the vision within City Hall to meet this growth, he said.
He deplored the constant squabbling at City Hall, where he said council meetings are dominated by quarrels over matters like overseas trips and who allowed stalls to be built on roadsides. It’s never “about this new modern city that we need to all work towards,” the President charged.
He said “little things” can be done to improve the city. “If we cut the grass and remove some of the garbage, the city will look different; but a simple thing as just cutting the grass becomes a major rocket science task for the City Council,” he said.
At yesterday’s press conference, Green agreed with the President’s statement that there has been too much nitpicking, but he charged that some of the chief culprits involved, are the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) members of the City Council.
Green also maintained that the government still owes the M&CC taxes for the second and third quarters of this year.
Mr. Peter Ramsaroop, of Vision Guyana, who was also allowed to speak at the forum, alleged that the government is holding the city hostage and concurred with Green that the revenue base must be broadened.
Trade unionist, Mr. Norris Witter said the garbage situation is not just a problem for the council or citizens but for all of Guyana.