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Grove/Diamond NDC in trouble…Residents want garbage buildup cleared before Christmas
Residents of Diamond and Grove, East Bank Demerara, are worried over a growing
Garbage dumped on a parapet in Avenue A, Diamond Housing Scheme.
garbage crisis and want authorities to do something about it before Christmas.
Their concerns may be valid with an official close to the Grove/Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) disclosing that only recently the body resumed garbage collection in certain areas there.
Reports reaching Kaieteur News said that the non-collection of garbage was made worse after staffers of the NDC went on a ‘go-slow’ after not being paid salaries.
The situation started about three to four weeks ago when the NDC’s tractor encountered mechanical problems.
There are about 8,000 households in the Diamond New Housing Scheme and every day that goes by, the piles are getting bigger, residents say.
Residents have complained of garbage only being collected in certain areas of the schemes and of drivers passing homes and throwing waste onto empty lots and the roadways.
When contacted, Region Four Chairman, Clement Corlette, emphasized that the Grove/Diamond NDC was once an enviable one known for proper documentation and storage of financial records.
However, the body has been absent from several meetings held by the RDC, and their financial plight has not been conveyed to that body.
Corlette blamed the previous Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Kellawan Lall, for the rift which exists now between the Region’s NDCs and the RDC.
He argued that the Minister’s deliberate move to usurp the RDC’s functions of supervising and coordinating with NDCs was distinct in March 2011 when they were instructed to report directly to the Ministry.
The Chairman disclosed that, previously, if the NDC needed expenditure of $100,000 and above, it had to consult the RDC.
However, in 2008, Lall put systems into place by withdrawing the right of the RDCs across the country to approve NDCs’ budgets.
Corlette revealed that he recently wrote to the new Minister, Ganga Persaud, concerning the situation.
When contacted about the financial situation of the NDC, its Chairperson, Dr. Shyam Doodnauth, declined to comment and said he does not speak to the media.
He, however, did disclose that the NDC had borrowed a truck from the Ministry of Public Works and Communications and is trying to normalize the garbage situation.
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