M&CC to purchase trucks to boost garbage collection

DPI, GUYANA, Friday, January 5, 2018

Town Clerk of Georgetown Royston King during a press conference today said that the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) will purchase its own garbage collection truck by the end of June 2018.

An estimated $70M, which will be taken from the $200M granted to the council by the Ministry of Communities, will go towards acquiring two trucks.

King said this move is part of M&CC’s capacity building effort to ensure the city of Georgetown remains clean. Additionally, training of its staff, including mechanics and technical officers will be conducted to ensure that the trucks are correctly maintained and utilised efficiently.

It was also highlighted that a high-level team which included Mayor Patricia Chase-Greene and Deputy Mayor, Lionel Jaikaran met with the two-main garbage collectors Puran’s Disposal Services and Cevons Waste Management.

Stemming from that meeting, an agreement was arrived at to have the contractors resume garbage collection from today after they recently pulled their services. However, King noted that both sides have agreed to have the current contract reviewed.

Additionally, as of February 1, 2018, the council will be implementing a charge of $200 per barrel for the collection of waste from the citizens of Georgetown. The total cost for the collection of garbage per barrel, according to King, is approximately $600 but noted that the council will be subsidizing the cost.

“They will be required to pay that money to City Hall upon which they will receive an official receipt. We are still working out the modalities to ensure that all homeowners take the opportunity to pay,” King stated.

The initiative, King pointed out, is not a new one since previously a solid waste management consultant had made the suggestion that householders pay US$2 per barrel. The Town Clerk said that “since that time, we have had all sorts of changes and what is actually happening is that even though we are asking homeowners to pay a small fee, council will still continue to heavily subsidize the collection.”

The same rate will not be applied to business owners who are already paying a fee for the collection of their commercial waste. However, King noted that he is “in the process of tidying up a special white paper to ask council to place a special fee on industrial waste.”

Garbage collection, the Town Clerk said, is a very important exercise and believes that the council’s stipulations are reasonable. He reiterated that the council can no longer work with the flat rate being collected as for rates and taxes which is same as was being collected 20 years ago.

 

By: Isaiah Braithwaite

 

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