NSWMA ready to tackle MoBay garbage

WESTERN BUREAU:

With unsightly piles of garbage strewn over several communities in St James, the Western Regional Office of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), says it is making the requisite preparations to have the backlog in garbage collection addressed within the next two weeks.

Julian Robinson, the senior public cleansing inspector at the NSWMA Western Regional Office, told councillors at Thursday's monthly meeting of the St James Parish Council that the agency is now fully equipped and would be addressing garbage collection and disposal in the affected areas over the next two weeks.

"We had a shortage of compactors in the parish so we have been using some tipper trucks ... so that is our challenge," said Robinson. "However, we now have four units and we have eleven supplementary ... so I can assure you that within the next two weeks, we will begin the clean-up and things will return to normal."

GARBAGE EVERYWHERE

Robinson was primarily responding to concerns raised by Michael Troupe, the councillor for the Granville Division, who said his entire division was now filthy with large piles of garbage everywhere.

"The constituents have paid their taxes and we cannot sympathise with NSWMA anymore. You need to come and collect the garbage, clean the areas and dispose of the waste," said Troupe. "We do not need to hear the same excuse again about what you don't have."

Councillor Glendon Harris, chairman of the St James Parish Council and mayor of Montego Bay, said he was informed by Jennifer Edwards, executive director of the NSWMA, at a recent meeting in Kingston, that the agency had received some additional funds from Government to boost its effort to tackle clean-up efforts across the country.

"The NSWMA has received some funding for purchasing parts to repair some of the units that they have," said Harris. "They are currently going through a bridge procurement process to ensure that this is done speedily because with the clean-up, which is more than necessary at this time, they have to play a critical role, so that is being done expeditiously."

Harris also announced that the council had made a submission to the Ministry of Local Government for $5 million to undertake the clean-up effort for the parish.