As the Georgetown City Council awaits ministerial approval of new fines to tackle littering, Mayor Ubraj Narine yesterday renewed a call for support from central government to develop the capital.
At a press conference yesterday, Narine said that littering bylaws were approved by the council in November last year and then forwarded to the Minister of Local Government and Regional Deve-lopment Nigel Dharamlall for approval. He said the council was still awaiting a response from the minister.
Narine mentioned that under the new bylaw, a first offence would carry a fine of $10,000, a second offence $20,000 and a third offence no less than $35,000 but no more than $500,000. He said there would be no court process involved as he likened the proposed new regime to a ticketing system as opposed to the current process under the Environmental Protection Act, which entails the prosecution of litterbugs.
He added that businesses would also be subjected to a new licensing regime under which they would be required to have receptacles of various sizes for the proper disposal of garbage, although he said fees are still to be decided by the council.
“I hope we don’t play politics with it,” Narine said as he stressed the importance of the bylaws being enforced in order to have a clean country.
Narine also reiterated a call for a meeting to be held with the government and other stakeholders, including the private sector, to implement a national solid waste management plan. He noted that the plan would not only be for the city but also for the country at large.
As he highlighted the need for a working relationship between government and the council, Narine noted that he wrote President Irfaan Ali on December 2, 2021, about the subvention owed to the city but he said he is currently awaiting a response.
According to Narine, the Fiscal Transfers Act states the “Georgetown City Council will be treated similarly in terms of set out conditions required to be fulfilled by each local authority but differently and separately in terms of the actual financial allocation as follows: (a) it will receive 50% of its allocation automatically based on the available sum allocated by parliament; (b) Georgetown City Council’s formula for the balance of its allocation will be based on a defined set of criteria as follows: target of 60% minimum rate of collection of revenue, stipulated allocation of 30% for population size, and 10% for geographical location.”
He added that using the criteria set out in the law the size of the subvention should be about $700 million to $800 million per year.
Narine also mentioned that he is awaiting a response to a letter he wrote to the Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud in May last year to address “social rejects” in the city. He said it was proposed that both the ministry and the City Council establish a special unit to deal with the matter of social rejects.
Additionally, Narine called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give the final approval to a Memo-randum of Understanding (MOU) that the Council voted on for a “twinning” of Georgetown and Port-of-Spain. Narine noted that the MOU is aimed at gaining from the experience of Port-of-Spain in light of the Trinidad and Tobago’s oil and gas sector.
Narine said that much more can be done if the Central Government supports the City Council’s work. “I am seeking the help of the government and asking for partnership,” said Narine. “We only have one vehicle in the City Constabulary, we don’t get any form of help from the Central Government or the Guyana Police Force. When Central government receive benefits, we are asking to be included, whether it be vehicles or scholarships, we can further train our staff,” he added.
