City Hall seeks stiffer fines for litterbugs

Jan 07, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The Georgetown Mayor and City Council is awaiting approval from the Local Government Minister to impose stiffer fines for persons found littering the city.City Mayor Ubraj Narine made this announcement during a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday.

City Mayor Ubraj Narine.

The Mayor announced that once approved, defaulting citizens can be fined from as low as GYD $10,000 and as high as $500,000 by the Council.At present, the Council has been taking litterbugs to court based on the guidelines outlined in the Environmental Protection Act (EPA).
However, the Mayor noted that the council is lacking to the resources to continue enforcing the EPA.
“The Council has no littering laws as we depend on the EPA to impose penalties but whose resources I have to use to go to the court for these matters. The council has a limited amount of staff to do the work. I’m pressured in a next angle…..”
At present, Narine said he is hoping that the Local Government Minister will approve the bylaws which would include a ticketing system. “This bylaw is very important to the City and we can stop the littering as long as the minister approves such bylaw,” he said. According to the proposed fines, $10,000 for the first offence, second offence $20,000, third offence $35,000 but not more than $500,000.
In addition, under the new bylaws, the Mayor said that businesses would have to be licenced if they have the required regulations in place for the disposal of waste. A majority of the Councillors voted in favour of the bylaws on November 22, 2021. During the 2021 budget reading, M&CC Councillors were informed of the draft of the proposed new anti-littering regulations that will soon be released for public scrutiny.
Among the penalties under consideration for those caught dumping or in breach of paying the new anti-littering bylaws fines can be jailed for up to six months. Previously, the fines for littering ranged from $25,000 to $100,000, with imprisonment as the consequence of the failure to pay. The new proposed bylaws stipulate that the fines are to be paid to the City within 72 hours from the time notice is given. Failure to adhere to the notice shall attract an additional fine of $10,000 for every 24 hours payment remains outstanding.

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