Minister of Local Government, Priya Manickchand this morning addressed the media at her ministry’s boardroom where she unveiled a five-part strategy to address Georgetown’s longstanding garbage problem.
A large part of the strategy is to be implemented by the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC).
Even before she revealed the strategy, Manickchand briefed the media on the issues her ministry identified as causes for uncleanliness in the Capital. The strategy addresses those root causes.
Manickchand explained that the M&CC offered a 48-hour grace period to errant contractors tasked with collecting garbage. Meaning, if for some reason, a contractor missed a scheduled pick-up, M&CC allowed them 48 hours to remove the waste. Manickchand said that 48-hour grace period is no more. If a contractor misses a pick-up, they will be fined.
Manickchand noted that there were no community monitoring system in place, which forced authorities to only rely on reports by citizens. Now, there are provisions for community monitoring through the use of technology and man power.
Another issue was the fact that contractors did not collect parpet waste, meaning bulky garbage not placed in bins were left behind. There has now been a restoration of parpet waste collection.
The fourth issue identified was the fact that while some areas were underserved, while others were not served at all. The solution is that garbage will now be collected in areas such as Yarrow Dam and Sophia.
The final solution is to place skip bins in areas the Minister described as “hot spots”.
Manickchand noted that this strategy has been in motion about a month and notable changes can be seen.
Outside of that five-point plan, Manickchand noted that there will be amendments of regulations under the Environmental Protection Act to allow for better enforcement and more realistic fines for litter bugs.
