…urges govt strengthen legislation on waste management
Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine said on Friday that it is high time that Guyana implements stiffer penalties for littering along with law enforcement and waste management legislation. Unless this is done, he said that the country will continue to be plagued by poor drainage and unhealthy environs.
On Friday, at a press briefing, the Mayor said that persons in Georgetown often complain to the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) about illegal dumpsites and clogged drains but it is the M&CC that is awaiting the legislative arm of Government to take the next step towards clearing the path for stricter enforcement.
In the past, Narine had proposed that the littering fine be hiked from $10,000 to $50,000 to deter littering. The M&CC, under the Municipal and District Act Chapter 28:01, is allowed to fine persons $10,000 for littering while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can penalise a person with up to $50,000 while a corporate body can be issue a fine of $100,000.
According to the Litter Prevention Regulations 2013, it is also an offence not to provide a receptacle for litter in public transportation and failure to satisfy this regulation could result in a penalty fee of $15,000. However, enforcement is key.
“If there’s no law to deal with these matters what do you want the Mayor and Councilors to do? I will continue to get blamed but it’s not me, I’m not the legislative arm of Government, I’m not the Minister. You have to deal with two things together: the drainage system and the garbage system. You cannot deal with the drainage alone and don’t deal with the littering because you’ll continue to find garbage in the drains. Only recently we took out about three dead cows and a dead dog. We need a system, laws, to guide the people,” the Mayor stressed.
With the EPA’s advantage, the Mayor once again called on the Agency to show a willingness to work along with the Council to enforce the fines in place. In the past, there have been engagements between the EPA and the City Constabulary for joint partnership.
“I was [trying] with the then [Head] of the EPA to have a MOU or some agreement [to say] let us as Council and EPA come together and deal with this matter. I don’t know what happened there,” Narine said.
He added that when garbage trucks leak across the city there is little the M&CC can do because the EPA is the body that does the inspection of garbage trucks and provides the necessary authorisation to operate.
When it comes to waste management, the Mayor said that he does not support landfills because leachate can leak into groundwater and into water systems and affect the health of residents. He said that ensuring the country becomes litter free is a collective responsibility and the M&CC stands ready to do its part towards achieving this.
