Benn condemns protest action at Mandela landfill site
MINISTER of Transport and Hydraulics, Mr. Robeson Benn, on Wednesday, condemned the Tuesday actions of pardoned treason accused Mark Benschop and Kaieteur News columnist Freddie Kissoon, which stalled operations at the Mandela landfill site and obstructed the flow of traffic along Cemetery Road.
Benn said: “I want to condemn that type of action in the strongest possible terms. Any citizen can protest, peacefully, along the side of the road without taking action which would create trouble for the rest of society, for the community and the operations of a site which is supposed to be environmentally managed.”
He maintained that what was done by Benschop and Kissoon is unlawful because they created disruption and stopped the flow of traffic which resulted in their arrest.
“Because of this, the operators were unable to gain access to the site,” the Minister observed.
He said, for more than a year, there have been reports that the conditions at the dumpsite are becoming more and more deplorable.
“We had already, over three or four weeks ago, put a proposal to make changes and improve the operations at the site, taking cognisance of the fact that it is a Mayor and City Council’s operational site and, therefore, their responsibility,” Benn revealed.
He said, despite the Administration’s intention to improve operations at the site, nothing was done in this regard and the situation bacame progressively worse.
“We were authorised, before any protest action, to go ahead and take the necessary actions which would see an improvement at the Mandela dumpsite and we will so do,” Benn undertook
The Mandela landfill site, scheduled for closure since 2006, was established in 1994 to accommodate, on a 10 acres plot, garbage from Georgetown, East Coast and East Bank Demerara, as well as some areas on West Bank and West Coast Demerara.