…as contracts with small contractors end

THE Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has finally pulled the plug on its arrangements with the smaller garbage contractors and has broken the deadlock between the municipality and the City’s two main contractors.

As such, the two companies will resume work as per normal from Monday. This latest development comes after months of back and forth engagements between the garbage collection firms – Puran Brothers Disposal Services and Cevons Waste Management Inc. – and the City Council. The contractors had pulled their services last August after claiming that the City Council was not making any payments to them, resulting in the M&CC hiring a number of smaller contractors to fill in.

The City Council, annoyed that the contractors took this course of action, and claiming that the companies were making it a habit to plunge the municipality into distress around the Christmas season, had wanted to cut ties. To this end, the M&CC approached their lawyers and even the Attorney General’s Chambers for advice on the way forward with the two contractors who they said breached their contracts when they stopped working.

Month over month, the contracts of the smaller contractors would be renewed. “Their contracts ended on April 30 and we haven’t renewed them,” Solid Waste Management Director Walter Narine told the Guyana Chronicle about this time around.

Speaking with this publication Friday evening, Narine said he wanted to thank the small contractors for stepping up when the municipality needed their services the most. “And thanks to the citizens of Georgetown for their extreme patience and co-operation during this period the main contractors were not working.”

The Solid Waste Director however remained tightlipped on whether any payments were made to the main contractors. He would also not say whether or not the smaller contractors were paid for their services.

Narine has since released a new schedule for garbage collection in the city, effective May 6, and has pointed out that the contractors are expected to remove all household, parapet and bulky wastes from the various communities.

The schedule is as follows:
Monday: Bel Air Springs, Bel Air Gardens, Subryanville, Kitty, Campbellville Housing Scheme, Section L-M, Campbellville, and Albertown.
Tuesday: Belvoir Court, Prashad Nagar, Bel Air Promenade, New Haven, Bel Air Village, Blyzeight, North Sophia, Lillendaal, Turkeyen, Atlantic Ville, Pattensen, University Gardens, Cummings Lodge, and Queenstown.

Wednesday: Lodge, Lodge Housing Scheme, Thorne’s Drive, Century Palm, Meadow Brook, Tucville Terrace, Guyhoc Park, North Cumminsgburg, West Ruimveldt, East Ruimveldt, Middle Road La Penitence, Jeeboo Land, Independence Boulevard, Castello Housing Scheme, North East La Penitence, and East La Penitence.

Thursday: South Ruimveldt Gardens, Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Shirley Field Ridley Square, Guyhoc Gardens, Alexander Village, River View Ruimveldt, Laing Avenue, Meadow Bank, Rahaman’s Park, Houston, Mc Doom, Agricola, Evan Phillips Park, South Cummingsburg, Bel Air Park, J-K Campbellville, Newtown Kitty, A-D Campbellville, E-I Campbellville, and Lamaha Gardens.

Friday: Albouystown, Charlestown, Wortmanville, Werk en Rust, Stabroek, Festival City, North Ruimveldt, Stevedore Postal Housing Scheme, South Ruimveldt Park, Jacksonville, West Front Housing Scheme, and Kingston.

The commercial areas will be covered Monday to Saturday, from 12 noon onwards.
The Solid Waste Director is cautioning households and businesses not to pay for collection.