Dear Editor,
It is no secret that the Mayor and City Council is facing a daunting challenge in respect of garbage collection and disposal. By most accounts, the municipality has not been doing an exceptionally good job. However, a fair assessment of the council’s performance must be placed in the context of its narrow revenue base and other circumstances including the negative attitude of some citizens towards the environment.
Add to that, the fact that we have not had a valuation of properties since 1997. Many properties have been changed from domestic dwelling to commercial use but we would not know unless we did a physical check of all buildings in all the wards, which is very time consuming and again requires money. As a result, people continue to get away with short-changing the council, paying 40% instead of 250% of the assessed value of their properties, while shouting that the council is incompetent or not performing.
Some defaulters seem to have missed the point that not paying rates or the correct amount is affecting the ability of the city to fulfil its responsibilities to citizens. Unless the council collects its rates it cannot provide services. Of course, there are other factors which affect the municipality’s ability to perform, and yes, we can do some things better, as detailed in the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry Report. We have been trying, but the bottom-line is the bottom line. There is no other way. The council needs money.
Even if the council were to collect all of the rates owed to it, the municipality would still fall far short of the amount needed to manage the city and to provide services.
Six years ago, the council asked the then chief city engineer to put up a technical paper on the mix of things and cost required to effectively overhaul the drainage system in Georgetown. He came up with a figure of $1B. Our total budget this year is $1.9B. Looking at it, the budget could be easily utilized to deliver one service to citizens. We provide a plethora of services and facilities to the city. Clearly, the council needs to broaden its revenue base.
Again, some services are heavily subsidized by the council. For example, under our arrangement residents in the La Penitence communities are paying $71.00 for clearance once per week per household. However, if they were to hire private contractors then they would pay $500.00-$700.00 every time they needed their bin emptied.
General rates for an average three-bedroom house in that same area are about $4000.00 per year. When one does the mathematics one would realize that some property owners could pay much more to collect their garbage in six months than the amount of rates they pay to the council in a year. Again, this is just one of the services we provide to citizens.
Add to that, the fact that there are areas within the city which are not within the remit of the council and we collect no rates from them, yet these communities benefit from municipal services in direct and indirect ways. Sophia is one such area. Then there are squatters, who are paying nothing to the council but benefit from our service.
We cannot just remove them because there are all kinds of social, economic and human rights challenges associated with their removal. As a result, they get to remain on the city’s reserves and indulge in unfriendly environmental practices.
However, the City Engineer’s Department has been mobilizing the resources available to them, to remove garbage from different sections including the commercial areas. As yet, we have not been able to reach all areas. We regret that, but our officers are trying their utmost.
Nevertheless, out of the daily 130 tonnes of garbage generated in the city, the council, with its very limited resources, is only removing about 65 tonnes per day.
This situation is exacerbated by the actions of some citizens, who throw out their garbage in the alleyways and onto parapets and roadsides. These actions are merely sending the problem further down the road; they are not helping the situation. There are eight mini-dump sites in our central commercial area. The situation is worryingly embarrassing in other sections of the city.
The council simply cannot deal with this negative environmental situation on its own – everyone has a role to play.
We believe that individual entities – companies, the private sector, and NGOs – should step forward with visionary pledges that can salvage the situation.
Case in point: in 1995, the city council and local businesses, which together represented billions of dollars in sales, announced a partnership to clean up the city. The results were outstanding. It was a show of civic-mindedness and care for the environment.
This is why we feel that strategic partnerships and in particular corporate actions, stemming from corporate social responsibility, can assist to reverse what appears to be an emerging culture of littering in Georgetown.
We, at the city council, are willing to work with companies, first to encourage them to get involved in activities aimed at securing the health of the environment and later to help facilitate their strategies by creating the conditions on the ground that will let them benefit from their involvement. This will require four key sets of activities that will encourage and enable companies to be part of the plan.
First, large corporations and companies must use their influence to stimulate public interest in protecting the environment, and encourage other businesses and brands to do the same. In particular, their agents would need to account for their approach to storage and disposal of waste through credible local sustainable standards to ensure that they secure the health of the environment.
Second, corporations, particularly those involved in manufacturing certain products must drive productivity using technology and innovation to improve efficiency so that we can produce more with less and generate less waste.
Third, the Private Sector Commission should encourage its members to invest in the recycling industry. The announcement by the President of Guyana on concessions for those investing in recycling plants must be a good encouragement for those who are desirous of getting involved in recycling. It is a multi- billion dollar industry with enormous benefits for the environment.
And finally, while it is important to address the issue of solid waste management, we are aware that it is equally important to find ways to give back to those corporations and organizations that will partner with the council. If managed in a responsible way, this approach could offer a host of benefits to the council, local industry and all citizens.
We all recognise that much more can be achieved if we align our efforts and work in partnership. This is the kind of thinking we need if we’re going change what is happening in the city.
But none of this can happen without co-operation, with each sector of society working together. To some this will appear to be unattainable. But it could work as long as there is the will.
Yours faithfully,
Royston King
Public Relations Officer
