Latest update April 7th, 2025 6:08 AM
Garbage woes continue to plague Georgetown residents
Five days after garbage contractors working with the Mayor and City Council (MCC)
More and more garbage being added to “Mount Garbage” outside of the Bourda market.
pulled their services from the city, Georgetown’s refuse woes are continuing to literally “pile up”.
Earlier this week, there was a huge pile of garbage between the North Road and Orange Walk entrance to the Bourda market which resulted in the area being barricaded and the flow of traffic to be badly affected.
When Kaieteur News arrived at the site yesterday, the heap of garbage had increased almost two times its previous size (from Thursday), while drivers had to maneuver their vehicles to avoid driving in the middle of the garbage pile.
One vendor in the area stated that the Minister of Local Government, Norman Whittaker, along with staff from his Ministry visited the area yesterday morning.
“The Minister ain’t tell we nothing. He stand up with the rest of them (Ministry staff) across the garbage mountain and point li’l li’l bit and then leave. Every month we got to pay $5,000 for rental for we stall and if we late we got to pay $800 in arrears. You think this is fair?” questioned the irate vendor.
This newspaper was made to understand that the Local Government Ministry has rendered some assistance to the MCC in helping with the garbage cleanup.
Outside of the Bourda Market yesterday as the garbage began to overflow onto the main road thus prohibiting free flow of traffic along Orange Walk and North Road.
Mayor Hamilton Green told Kaieteur News that he was not informed about the Minister’s trip to the affected areas in Georgetown yesterday morning. He suggested that the Minister “probably told the Town Clerk”.
“He has no sense of protocol,” stated Mayor Green.
Green explained that he has not yet received a detailed report although he is aware that the city council received assistance from the Ministry, “either two or three trucks”, to transport garbage and ease the current situation.
Kaieteur News was further told that the trucks that were sent by the Ministry, to render assistance, should have already begun operations around Georgetown.
“This is not only garbage from people in the market. People from East Coast come all the way down and dump their rubbish here in the city because Haags Bosch is a far way and they resolve to dump it around here. This was already highlighted before operations began at Haags Bosch that we would be facing these problems,” added Green.
In a release from the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the City Council, Royston King, it was confirmed that as of Monday August 1, 2011 garbage collectors working with the council pulled their services from the city. The termination of service was attributed to delays in payment which were not elaborated upon by the PRO in his release.
According to sources, there are tens of millions in outstanding fees owed to garbage collectors for the period March to June 2011.
The two largest contractors, Cevons Waste Management Inc. and Puran Bros Disposal Service confirmed yesterday that they are indeed on strike. They were also unable to say when their services to the city will resume.
According to King, the delay is the direct result of the council’s narrow revenue base. He also blamed “the attitude of some property-owners,” who he said “fail to honour their civic-responsibility.”
King noted that the narrow revenue base, in particular, continues to affect the council’s general and specific operations, in the City of Georgetown, including the collection of garbage, drainage, health services and other essential municipal services to citizens.
He added that the collection of garbage is an expensive undertaking. Adding to the long list of services and facilities council is expected to provide to communities.
The municipality spends about one million dollars per day, to collect the city’s waste.
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