citizens asked to ‘store’ refuse
City Hall is in the throes of yet another crisis. It has racked up a $50 million solid waste management bill, which it is unable to honour and yesterday asked that citizens store garbage in bags sprinkled liberally with strong disinfectant.
Expressing no surprise that the financial crisis has occurred, Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green said at a press conference yesterday that the fact was that the city had inadequate revenue to provide its compulsory services.
The two major private contractors responsible for garbage disposal in the city – Cevons Waste Management Incorporated and Puran Brothers Disposal Services – have again refused to continue their duties until the municipality has paid them monies owed.
According to the Solid Waste Department, for the first three months of this year, the municipality has a bill amounting to $50 million for solid waste management.
At its press conference yesterday, the council advised citizens to store their garbage in large garbage bags and sprinkle them liberally with a strong solution of disinfectant.
Those persons so inclined, it said, can take their garbage to Le Repentir disposal site between 7 am and 4 pm.
The mayor said sanitation releases would be issued to the public shortly in order to avoid a health crisis, which is possible in situations as these.
The mayor said that the council is in constant dialogue with the contractors and has found them to be “reasonable and understanding,” and he is sure that a reasonable compromise will be made in the near future.
In the meantime, Green called on businesses to put a halt to paying “junkies” to get rid of their garbage since it is not properly disposed of.
He also made a plea to restaurants and hotels to desist from dumping fatty substances into the sewer system since it is a serious contribution to the clogging of drains and the sewers themselves.
Green said City Hall had a number of responsibilities which include 160 miles of roads, 800 miles of concrete and earthen drains, five municipal markets, control of animals, law and order, management of building codes and cemeteries among others for which revenue is not available to deal with effectively.
He said the financial situation was an inevitable one, adding that since 1994 there has been a “clarion call” by the council to broaden its revenue base but this has gone unheeded. In 2001, the government had said that no municipality would be allowed to raise taxes and the council is still waiting word from the government as relates to its revenue, he said.
However, he pointed out that even if there was optimum collection of taxes, the gap that exists between collected revenue and expenditure would still be a substantial one.
Mayor Green highlighted that the council has written to Minister of Local Govern-ment Kellawan Lall to solicit assistance in three areas: payment to GPL for street lighting, additional lamps and repairs to those not functioning along with subsidy for the council’s daycare services in 2008.
However, he refused to say what amount the council is requesting. Assistance in dealing with the garbage situation was not among the areas mentioned.
Green said that with the present security problems and with Carifesta around the corner, persons are calling for street lights in their areas. He said even residents of Sophia, which has not yet been handed over to the council, are clamouring for lights in their areas.
He also noted the calls by workers for raise in wages. He said the demands by the unions are quite “justifiable and reasonable” given the hike in the prices of food and other commodities.
However, he said, the council will be acting “irresponsibly” if promises are made.
