Guyana is to benefit from a US$1m ($200m) grant in the second quarter of next year for a solid waste project for Georgetown and other municipalities.
The announcement of the grant by the BASIC group of countries – Brazil, South Africa, India, and China was made by Minister within the Minis-try of Local Government Norman Whittaker, whose ministry will be responsible for implementing the project.
Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud said that the government submitted a proposal for the works they intend to carry out, and that the proposal was approved in 2012. Persaud said that the revised proposal for the project will be submitted in January of 2014, and the money is expected
to be released in the second quarter of the new year.
In addition to the procurement of equipment for solid waste transportation and disposal, $55 million of the funding will be given to Guyana’s six municipalities to improve their infrastructure.
All municipal markets, he added, will be targeted for improvement to varying degrees as the ministry is keen on improving the hygienic conditions under which vendors ply their trade. Gutters and drains, particularly, will be tended to so as to ensure that there is proper drainage in market areas. Since the ministry will be going to such lengths to improve conditions at markets, Whittaker said, efforts will be ramped up to eradicate roadside and pavement vending which he admitted remains a problem.
He is of the opinion that many criminal elements capitalize on the lawlessness of pavement vending to perpetuate their trade, while those not involved in illicit activities are using public infrastructure but not paying the rates and taxes needed to maintain the infrastructure.
Roadside vendors, he lamented, are also partially to blame for garbage pile-ups and clogged drains as they are known to wantonly discard their refuse. This is a result of a lack of garbage bins and other facilities in some areas where vending on pavements is popular.
Removing vendors from the pavements and placing them in designated markets, Whittaker told reporters, will prevent the garbage pile-ups and clogged drains which result from this activity, and will also provide added revenue for the various municipalities.
More
The ministry will also be taking steps towards making the existing solid waste management plan for Georgetown and its environs more effective. Whittaker said that two garbage trucks have already been procured towards this end and two more will be procured in the coming year.
The ministry also procured 875 garbage receptacles, 475 of which will be given to Neighbourhood Democratic Councils for distribution, while the remainder will be placed along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, closer to Region Four.
Whittaker also said that many persons are under the false impression that the rates they currently pay to have their garbage collected, transported and disposed of are enough.
He said that when the idea for the landfill was conceptualized the cost associated with waste disposal – separation, compaction etc – was not factored in and so the cost that was attached to the service did not represent the actual cost.
Even the cost currently paid for collection and transportation, Whittaker said, is barely enough.
Haags Bosch
During a press conference the ministry ex-pressed disappointment at the slow pace at which BK International, the firm contracted to construct the Haags Bosch landfill, was proceeding. He had said that the landfill was about 65% complete, and yesterday he said that the ministry has since engaged BK as attempts are made to speed up the construction process.
The procurement process to secure the compactor which is to be used in the landfill’s operation has begun, Local Government Permanent Secretary Collin Croal shared.
Meanwhile, cell one of the landfill, which was projected to last five years, is being used although it has not been completed. The lifespan of Cell One, similar to the lifespan of the landfill itself, is called into question when one considers that more than the planned amount of garbage is being taken to the facility daily.
Construction on Haags Bosch began in February of 2007 and was slated for completion in August of this year, but multiple setbacks made meeting any 2013 deadline impossible. The project is being made possible by a US$18 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
