Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine yesterday hosted a walking tour of the central business district for the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Gerry Gouveia in a bid to secure assistance to address the strain being placed on the city’s garbage collection resources.
During the council’s statutory meeting on Monday, Narine explained that the volume of garbage being generated by the business district during the Christmas season is burdening the council’s limited resources. He also said consideration is being given to charging businesses for garbage collection.
“I don’t want the private sector to expect me to be nice. I have noticed the amount of garbage in front of these businesses this morning (Monday) and I sent the pictures to Mr Gouveia to show him what is our dilemma and ask him how the private sector intends to help us,” an agitated Narine told the council during discussions.
He added that the private sector has been saying that they are ready to support the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) in projects and the garbage situation is an area where he would like to see them collaborating.
“They are saying that they are the bloodline of the city. But I want to tell them we are the heart and they need to help us pump the blood. They cannot overburden us with this, we need the assistance from them,” Narine added.
During the walking tour, Gouveia pledged the private sector’s assistance to help the city with garbage collection. How this would be done was not disclosed.
However, at Monday’s statutory meeting, Councillor Dawn Stewart, of the APNU, related to the council that too much refuse is being generated by businesses on Regent Street and a solution is needed to prevent accumulation.
In her comments, she applauded workers of the Solid Waste Department for not allowing the situation to get out of control. “I have seen workers picking up heaps of garbage on the King Street and Regent Street but I say the business needs to do more and improve in the manner [in which] they dispose of garbage,” Stewart said.
