The people are fed up – Daley
Published:Tuesday | June 7, 2022 | 12:07 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
Opposition Spokesman on Local Government and Community Development Denise Daley has chastised the Government for its failure to bring order to garbage collection across the country, noting that the worsening crisis is putting the lives of Jamaicans at serious risk.
She lamented the inconvenience being caused to many citizens, especially residents of inner-city communities, as she acknowledged that the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has admitted that it is operating with an inadequate fleet.
“We cannot speak about development when our people are breathing the stench and toxicity of rotting garbage,” Daley, the member of parliament for St Catherine Eastern, charged while making her contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Wednesday.
Garbage holding stations
“It is an insult to all of us when the suffering people are blamed for the poor management of solid-waste collection. How can you blame the people when the trucks don’t show up for regular and timely collection of solid waste? This is a concern across the length and breadth of this country. There is no proper schedule, no proper timeline for it to be collected, [and] the garbage is allowed to remain and become a welcoming refuge of rats, flies, roaches, and other insects and vermin,” she said, noting the health risks the situation poses.
“I am recommending that we build out some holding stations in each parish to store garbage for not even more than five days and then let the smaller trucks do the pick-up in and around the communities,” Daley said.
She called on Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke to tell the nation when the NSWMA would be getting additional trucks.
Turning to the management of dump sites across the country, Daley said that frequent fires at the Riverton City landfill in the Corporate Area and Retirement dump in St James have “cost the Government billions [of dollars] in lawsuits because of the damage caused by the frequent fires”, noting that many concerns were health-related.
“There is no equipment readily available on site, not even material such as dirt and sand,” she charged.
At this point, an enraged Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie rose on a point of order to challenge the allegation.
“I cannot sit here and allow the member to mislead the House about the response about equipment and coverage. It is absolutely not true. She is misleading the House, and I would like her to correct it or to provide the facts to substantiate the argument,” he demanded.
Daley, however, was dismissive, challenging McKenzie to present facts.
She went on to add that trucks were finding it difficult to reach dump sites whenever it rains due to the muddy conditions. Very often, she said, tractors have to be engaged to pull out the trucks.
“NSWMA, the people are fed up out there. This is not joke. This is unacceptable,” she said before turning to the non-realisation of long-touted plans to launch income-generation projects at some of the landfills, turning trash into cash.
She challenged the Government to implement practices used by Singapore, which has a vibrant energy-to-waste programme under which 90 per cent of its waste is converted to energy.
“It is taking too long to do this thing right,” she stressed.
In a wide-ranging speech, she also pointed to the urgent need for drain- and gully-cleaning as the Atlantic Hurricane Season has started.