THE Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is planning to engage its two main garbage contractors, Puran Brothers Disposal Services and Cevons Waste Management, within a week, Town Clerk Royston King told reporters on Monday.

Representatives of the two companies, Morse Archer and Kalesh Puran, had complained recently of being in the ‘dark’ on the way forward with the City Council, due to its refusal to call any meetings with them.  “Two weeks ago, I had discussions with the owner of Cevons Waste Management and I am currently in discussion with the Chairman of the Finance Committee, and we hope to have a meeting in another week with both our contractors to brief them on the way forward,” King said.

Asked whether the municipality has on the cards approaching government for a ‘bail out,’ King reiterated that this is not necessary, in view of the fact that the Council is an autonomous body and therefore is capable of raising its own funds.

“There are enough provisions in the by-laws for Council to raise its own funds to get done all the work that needs to get done. But we have to be facilitated to do that. There is no need for a bailout. You check the laws. There is absolutely no need for a bailout if the Council is allowed to do its work and to raise its own funds,” King stated.

For those who are against some of the revenue generating projects of the Council, King said these individuals ought to provide the municipality with alternatives.

Meanwhile, residents in a number of communities have been reporting that their garbage is not being picked up in a timely fashion.

“There have been delays in some local communities because the equipment we are using is old and sometimes we have all kinds of mechanical problems,” King observed, adding, “We are not happy with the level at which we are providing the clearance because it is not at an excellent level, but we are doing our best in the current circumstances. We could not find $45M a month to hire the two contractors.”

He said this is the reason the Council is pushing for a number of revenue generation projects.