On Wednesday, members of the Private Sector Commission met with Norman Whittaker, Minister of Local Government and Regional Develop-ment and the “Clean-Up My Country” Programme Implementa-tion Committee.
A release from Clean-Up My Country committee said that Ramesh Persaud, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission gave kudos to the Minister and his team for the implementation of the clean-up programme. The Chairman also voiced concerns about the sustainability of the government-funded programme, and told the Minister and his team that he will engage the members of the Private Sector Commission as to how they can be of substance and support to the clean-up activities in the longer term.
The release said that Whittaker in his address to the members of the Commission and the Programme Implementation Committee said that sustaining a clean environment is not only the obligation of institutions, but a “collaborative relationship between municipalities, private sector and the people of the communities”.
Whittaker called on the Private Sector Commission to become an “agent of enforcement” for the payment of business rates and taxes that are owing to the Municipality by private businesses and to encourage business owners to outfit their premises with garbage receptacles.
The release said that also at the meeting were Collin Croal, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Lance Hinds, Presi-dent of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce Inc., (GCCI); Patricia Bacchus, Councillor for the Private Sector Commission; Elizabeth Alleyne, Executive Director and Annette Arjoon both representing the Commission; and members of the “Clean-Up My Country” Programme Implementation Committee.
