The Ministry of Communities has intervened and agreed to pay off a substantial amount owed to Georgetown’s two major garbage contractors and has directed the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to meet with the contractors to iron out details for their resumption of their services to the capital.
The intervention by the ministry comes two weeks after a call from Cevons Waste Management Inc and Puran Brothers Disposal Inc for the M&CC to settle its debts to them. The companies suspended their services due to the failure of the M&CC to pay them a total of $160 million for the work they have done since June.
In a joint statement yesterday, Cevons and Puran Brothers announced that, subject to the assent of City Hall, they are willing to resume garbage collection immediately. The statement described the meeting with Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan as amicable and constructive. “It yielded what we believe to be credible assurances that settlement of the outstanding debt will commence very shortly. Our understanding is that the first payment will be made before the end of 2018. We have, without prejudice, accepted those assurances,” the companies said.
Stabroek News understands that at the meeting, it was agreed that the companies will be paid a sum of $130 million and they will return to collecting garbage from the streets of the city.
While no definite date has been given on the payments, Chief Executive Officer of Cevons Morse Archer said, “We are willing to accept the assurance of the government. We should be paid before the end of the year or by the first week in January.”
He added, “We are ready to return to the streets and start collecting garbage. We have worked hard to bring the cleanliness of the city to a standard and we will not like to see it return to that state. We are just waiting on the council to give us the go-ahead.”
According to Archer, they have been waiting patiently to be contacted by the council for a meeting to discuss their return.
Acting Town Clerk Sharon Harry-Munroe yesterday told Stabroek News that the return of the two companies depends on the council. “We are in discussion on going forward but the council has to decide on this and then Administration will contact the garbage collectors,” Harry-Munroe said, while admitting that they have not yet met with the companies.
“…We are likely to meet with them early next week as it relates to them recommencing operations,” she said. The companies’ return is likely to be debated at the council’s statutory meeting on Monday.
Given the Ministry’s committed sum, the council will have to find the additional $30 million needed to clear off their debts to Cevons and Puran Brothers.
“We will have to show the Ministry of Communities how we will pay off this outstanding balance. We are in a financial crisis but we are still trying to work in the best interest of our citizens,” the acting Town Clerk said.
The companies went on strike from November 26th.
In the interim, five companies – Garbage Eaters, Grandison, C&S Garbage Collectors, Trash Tech and Tristara – have been working with the city’s Solid Waste Department to maintain the garbage collection service to businesses and citizens.
Harry-Munroe explained that the small garbage collectors have agreed to work on a line of credit. She revealed that the companies are currently on three-month contracts. However, there are clauses in the contracts which will allow to council to suspend their services and reinstate Cevons and Puran Brothers.
Cevons and Puran Brothers have said their decision to withdraw their services was made only after futile attempts to engage the municipality on the issue of settling its outstanding debts.
The M&CC had said that it was unable to pay the companies because of the city’s cash-strapped position.
Even though there are hiccups in the current schedule of garbage collection, Harry-Munroe believes that the current team has been doing a satisfactory job.
“I think the job they have done so far is 70% satisfactory. They (contractors) weren’t familiar with the neighbourhoods at first and that caused a setback but now they are doing better and we don’t have too much garbage piling up,” she stressed.
In some communities, garbage was seen piling up days after the companies had taken the job.
