A loan in the amount of US$18.07M was yesterday signed between the Govern-ment of Guyana and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) chiefly for the construction of the waste disposal facility at Haag Bosch on the East Bank of Demerara and this could be a reality in about 18 months.
The signing took place in the Boardroom of the Ministry of Finance and this newspaper wasn’t invited to the event, as is customary with loan agreement signings. Stabroek News learnt from the IDB that it left all of the media arrangements to the Government Information Agency (GINA). When this newspaper called GINA, In-formation Officer Christopher Chapwanya said he had received a note from the Ministry of Finance to only send a photographer for a photo opportunity.
The objective of the programme is to improve the quality of life of residents of metropolitan Georgetown through sustainable solutions for solid waste management. The construction and operation contract for the sanitary landfill will be awarded to a private company to be selected through competitive bidding, the IDB said in a press release.
The programme will implement the Haag Bosch sanitary landfill in the vicinity of Eccles with the participation of a specialised operator from the private sector to the tune of US$9.75M.
In addition to the loan for this investment project, the IDB will provide a US$2.5M guarantee. The Bank will also provide a partial risk guarantee in support of the Government of Guyana payment and early termination obligations included in the contract with the operator of the facility.
Specifically the programme aims to provide a sustainable solution to the solid waste collection and disposal problems in George-town and the participating 15 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs). This, the release said, will be done through the strengthening of the Municipal Solid Waste Management Department of the Georgetown Municipality for the overseeing of solid waste management and disposal, and improve collection logistics and cost recovery at Georgetown and NDCs. This is to be done at a cost of US$1.915M.
As part of the package, the programme will raise public awareness within Georgetown and the NDCs for a better management of solid waste among households, industries, commerce, etc. at a cost of US$0.64M.
The programme also has as a component, implementing more efficient waste collection at the NDCs participating in the project. This aspect is valued at US$1.7M. It will also provide resources to study and define technologies to treat health care and hazardous waste in the amount of US$1.5M. Execu-tion, contingencies and other operational costs will come up to US$1.44M while financial costs have been pegged at US$0.63M.
Funds in the amount of US$0.5M will be provided for the rehabilitation and subsequent closure of the Mandela Avenue waste facility.
The release said that a gradual evolution towards full cost recovery is found to be the most feasible solution for the project. The solution includes the improvement of the existing Georgetown Municipality cost recovery mechanism through the Property Tax with the creation of a special solid waste account and the replication of the Georgetown Municipa-lity’s cost recovery mechanism in the NDCs.
A cost recovery charge will be implemented to cover operation and maintenance costs and illegal dumping legislation will be better enforced. There will also be a gate fee equivalent to the disposal costs. The release said that the Georgetown Munici-pality’s cost recovery mechanisms rely mainly on an efficient and timely Property Tax collection to cover operation and maintenance and capital costs for solid waste collection.
The release said that at the NDC level it is necessary to review and update the NDCs’ property cadastre, computerise the Property Tax collection system, enforce the collection of arrears and implement targeted public awareness campaigns. They should also implement an adequate solid waste collection system and a surcharge fee for solid waste management to ensure that every NDC willing to participate in the programme generates sufficient revenues to cover its operation costs. The programme will also provide funds to purchase software, hardware and hire technical assistance to improve collection of the Property Tax.
According to the IDB, the project will foster economic growth by contributing to the sound environmental management that is required to sustain economic growth. Furthermore, the participation of the private sector in the construction and operation of the landfill is aligned with the IDB’s goal of enabling private sector participation as a driver of economic growth.
The new IDB loan is for a 40-year term, with a ten year grace period. The interest rate is one per cent in the first ten years and two per cent in the subsequent years.
