Lindeners are concerned that the growing piles of garbage spread across several communities pose a serious health threat, while the Town Council is blaming malfunctioning trucks and lack of resources for the situation.
Residents said that despite the Regional Health Department’s efforts to sanitize some areas, the piles of garbage have increased since the start of the new year.
“This is overbearing now. If it’s not dirty water, is no water and now garbage stinking up the place. You need to do some investigative reporting on this matter, please, because this situation is definitely not good,” a frustrated woman told Stabroek News. The woman, who asked not to be named, said she lives near the Mackenzie Police Station and in addition to the piles of waste, her area has also been affected by discoloured water coming through the taps, low water pressure and water shortages.
The Council has said that garbage had begun to pile-up because its trucks were not working and it did not have the resource personnel to fix them.
The municipality’s Interim Management Committee (IMC) Chairman Orin Gordon was “disgusted” by the situation. “I am very disgusted and very frustrated and quote me, I am saying that this is nonsense. There is no need for that situation. I have fought very hard in this municipality to improve our garbage collection fleet,” Gordon said, adding that Linden was the only municipality that did not need to receive a garbage truck from the central government when it distributed trucks because it had already secured a fleet that met its needs.
Gordon explained that currently about 10 council vehicles, including those used for garbage collection and one that was purchased for the drainage and irrigation works, are inoperable because the recently sacked Town Clerk Patrick Innis and his team did not follow the maintenance programme that was set up with the Linden Technical Institute.
According to Gordon the administration had resorted to a servicing programme, where a former employee who now works in a distant interior location serviced the vehicles whenever he returned to the area. “That is utter nonsense, what happens when something goes wrong while he is not there?” Gordon asked.
In addition, a qualified mechanic employed as a driver but who often serviced the vehicles was instructed by the administration to stick to his driving duties. The man has since asked to provide the Council with a list of the parts needed to fix the vehicle and this will be forwarded to the now acting Town Clerk, Gordon said, noting that he intends to request that the purchases be expedited as a matter of urgency.
Gordon also pledged to do everything in his power to have the garbage collection programme back on stream as soon as possible.
He said he is aware of residents’ frustrations as from Noitgedacht, to neighbouring Watooka, Fair’s Rust and Richmond Hill they have been complaining about the garbage situation. “My wife asked me what is going on because it’s [been almost] four weeks, the people in Dacama Circle said ten weeks and Richmond Hill now saying almost two months. This is ridiculous and I am sick of it,” he said.
A week ago, when this newspaper inquired about the non-collection of garbage from the Town Council, an officer had indicated that it was because Innis had been on sick leave. She had said that the trucks were out of fuel and no one was available to sign for the purchases.
A subsequent check with the Council had revealed that Innis’ sick leave was further extended and that the Council, under the advice of the Minister of Local Government, had recommended that the head of security be authorized as the temporary signatory. “But the treasurer said that she was aware of the instruction given by the Minister through the council but she needed the authorization in writing from the Minister,” a source said.
