Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Norman Whittaker along with a team of officers on February 28, visited the three municipalities of Region 6 to meet with their respective councils on the projects proposed in their respective 2014 budget estimates.
A release from Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development said that the parties also discussed the challenges faced by the municipalities in addressing the issues of roadside vending and the improvement in solid waste management and agreed on a menu of measures aimed at addressing these challenges.
Zaheer Osman, Managing Director of Advance Environment Solution, the company responsible for solid waste collection and disposal in the Region attended these meetings at the request of the minister. Osman’s responsibilities include developing, operating and maintaining the landfill sites identified and approved by the EPA in Region 6.
The measures include the contractor giving the municipalities and residents a schedule for collection; an intensified solid waste education and public awareness programme involving the contractor, the municipalities, the Regional Democratic Council of Region 6 and the private sector. The minister emphasised that residents and the municipalities must work with the contractor, and also referred to the solid waste management bill which he indicated, when approved in the National Assembly, would undoubtedly impact the way solid waste is stored, collected, transported and disposed.
According to the release, the minister identified the high level of outstanding rates and taxes for residential and commercial properties; the underutilization of available market buildings and facilities; and the high incidence of roadside vending as scourges that needed to be addressed. He emphasised that municipalities must seek to intensify efforts to collect rates and taxes and to have vendors move into the markets.
