THE Ministry of Communities on Wednesday handed over three new John Deere Double Drive Tractors to the Lethem and Linden town councils and the Aranaputa Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) at its main office in Kingston, Georgetown.

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, who presented the tractors to representatives of the three councils, reminded them that waste disposal, solid-waste management and garbage collection are among the responsibilities of the local government organs. To this end, he said, the tractors will aid in sanitation-management efforts.

“These three machines at an approximate total cost of $20M represent not only an investment to support the work of these three councils, but it is evidence and a testament of ongoing support by the central government to our respective local democratic organs, to assist in their rehabilitation and the building of capacity,” Minister Bulkan said.

Mayor of Lethem Kerry Jarvis and Region 10 Councillor, Orleena Obermuller, expressed appreciation for the new machines. Jarvis said, “I am quite certain it will be very helpful in the farming done in Region Nine, because we are not only looking at developing the township alone, we are looking to develop the region.”

Managing-Director of GENEQUIP and Supplier of the Tractors, Renger Vandik, noted that while tractors are associated with agriculture, they can be used for sanitation purposes as well. “With the right tools, a tractor can do more than just ploughing or anything agriculture. You can load garbage in the trailer, you can have a slasher in the back to cut grass and you can pull a trailer with goods or garbage.” Vandik said his company has supplied many regions with the machines and to date it has not received any complaints of malfunctions. He believes the machines will take the regions’ development to another level. (DPI)