Benn advocates garbage dump for each NDC
MINISTER of Transport and Hydraulics, Mr. Robeson Benn is of the view that a place for dumping garbage should be established in each Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) as the distance to Haags Bosch, aback of Eccles, East Bank Demerara, is too great for most communities. He proffered that opinion when he and several other government functionaries met at ‘De Impeccable’ Banquet Hall on Brickdam, in Georgetown, last Thursday, to interact with representatives of NDCs across the country.
The forum was organised primarily for the presentation of the 2012 budgets for NDCs in every Region under the theme ‘Enhance services to promote human and infrastructural development across all NDCs.’
In his presentation, the Minister observed that the timing to and from the new landfill site at Haags Bosch reduces the amount of garbage that can be delivered there.
“If the cycle time is improved to more localised garbage dumps, the communities themselves, will improve faster,” he pointed out.
To deal with community problems such as littering and ‘ganja’ and dope smoking, Benn suggested that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) should be able to render assistance and not wait until someone breaks the law before they respond.
He said it would be a burden on taxpayers if his ministry had to send staff out to look for illegal practices in the various communities. “I am unhappy with the police in these matters because the police would, sometimes, tell you when you call that once there’s not a breach of the peace, they have no interest. That is what they tell us. Fundamentally, the police’s duty is for service and protection to the public and that means that they need to ensure that the laws are not being broken.”
Hence, if there is a breach, the Police should be summoned, Benn urged.
“Dope smoking and ganja smoking is the most recent salient feature of your villages now and we should not be proud of it,” he said.
The Minister charged the NDC representatives to make a report to the police where these things occur. Further more, they should be “assertive” on these types of issues, because they are first in line to deal with them in the communities.

Barefaced theft
Barefaced theft, in the context of taking over public lands, was listed among the problems plaguing the Public Works Ministry, as many persons occupy public reserves without the necessary permission.
Benn said that the ministry, which is included in his portfolio,  has ensured that it has removed, from the public squares, the encumbrances which were there and created safety risks for traffic and people, eyesores and reduced ambience of the environment.
He said, in many cases, the ‘big’ businessmen, who have a lot of money and who, sometimes, do not pay any taxes, are the ones who are the lead persons involved in the attempt to steal public lands.
“The lands for which a person may not have a certificate of title or lands for which they have no transport, those lands outside of a person’s personal property, are public land. Nobody has the right to make use of that land without permission,” Benn asserted.
He assured that the ministry will always come out and make the necessary changes with respect to congestion and illegal vending. “We don’t mind if a man goes out there with a cart and sells something…but if somebody comes and puts a building on the public reserves, we have a problem and it is our position that we have an overriding responsibility in respect of this issue in any community.”
Benn observed that, since 2006, there has been a tremendous improvement in the way the ministry has been managing the public reserves, the public space, infrastructure in respect of roads, sea defences and drainage related issues.
“I’ve gotten a bad name…the hammer man. I’m professionally qualified to carry a hammer because I’m a geologist and the principal instrument is a rock hammer. So otherwise, it doesn’t bother me,” he declared