Why after so many years, is the Municipality still grappling with this solid waste problem?

Oct 01, 2012 Letters

Dear Sir,
Solid Waste Management remains the single most worrying challenge for the city. It is not confined to the limits of Georgetown; it is nationwide. Even in the hinterlands and the far flung areas of this country there is the problem of improper disposal of waste.
However, the focus continues to be on Georgetown because it is the capital of Guyana. Therefore, it is the duty of the Mayor and City Council to continue to raise awareness on the issue and seek to encourage citizens to pay attention to the way the treat the environment.
It is public knowledge that the Council spends almost $1M a day to collect garbage from all areas of the city, prosecute litter-bugs (over the last two weeks over 50 litter-bugs were prosecuted), educate residents about the health of the environment through its environmental health and public relations divisions, and perpetually plead with citizens to avoid illegal dumping.
Yet, the general appearance of the city embarrasses all of us, particularly those who work in the municipal system and have to face irate citizens, who are disgusted with the situation and say exactly how they feel about the Council. Also, we too have to put up with it every time we step out of our homes to conduct our business or daily chores.
The psychological effect of it on our personal image, the way we see ourselves and the risk of certain diseases compel us, all of us, to ask many questions about this ever present problem. One such question is, why after so many years, is the Municipality still grappling with this solid waste problem?
It is clear that there are certain dynamics that are contributing to this state of affairs. There are three factors affecting the Council’s ability to effectively manage garbage in the city.
First, the Municipality lacks the resources to improve its performance in this area. They do not have the money to pay their garbage contractors on time. This in turn affects their efficiencies in the communities and generally impact negatively on the provision of this core service to citizens.
Also, they do not have the manpower to police all sections of the city and to enforce compliance with the law. For some time now, the City Constabulary has been operating below strength. Add to that, inadequacies in communication equipment and mobility and the situation becomes clearer. Some time ago, the Mayor had introduced a Bicycle Squad but the lack of continuous training and money to replenish parts effectively ruptured the effectiveness of that initiative.
All citizens know that, at City Hall, the issue of money, or the lack of it, is linked to several other challenges, some of which are beyond the control of the Council.
These include various kinds of governmental permissions to implement certain revenue earners including valuation of properties, which should be done every five years, (last valuation was done in 1987) and increases in the costs of commodities used by the Municipality to provide different services to citizens.
Some individuals have been suggesting that the Council might be overstaffed. However, employment records are showing a different set of realities. Many departments and sections of the Municipality are working below strength. The Maternal and Child Welfare Section, which provides prenatal and anti-natal care to mothers in local communities has eight nurses/midwives; it needs about 20 to provide an adequate service.
City Constabulary needs over 50 able-bodied men and women to sign up for service to the city. The environmental health inspectorate has eight qualified Environmental Health Officers to visit and inspect residences, common lodging houses, hairdressing salons, schools and a number of other public places. It budgeted for 25 qualified Environmental Health Officers.
Given the character and scope of our responsibilities, the Council is not over-staffed but seriously underfinanced.
PRO City Hall

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Why after so many years, is the Municipality still grappling with this solid waste problem?

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