Central Government has once again bailed out City Hall of their mountainous debts by offering $100 million to its main solid waste collectors – Puran Brothers Disposal and Cevons Waste Management – who have been owed for over six months for services provided.
The solid waste collectors are providing limited collection services
Speaking with Guyana Times on Friday, Business Development Supervisor of Cevons Waste Management, Morris Archer related that the Communities Ministry paid $100 million, which was divided between the two companies.
“We got paid by the Ministry. We got $50 million. There is still a balance for us for which the Mayor and City Council was supposed to get in contact with us about. The Ministry released $100 million and they divided the money equally between Cevons and Puran Brothers,” Archer said.
He noted that the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) would have engaged both companies on providing limited services within the capital city and its environs. Out of the ten lots, each contractor was providing services for two. However, this is a temporary arrangement to assist the smaller contractors and does not interfere with their existing contract with the local organ body.
On November 25, 2018, the collectors withdrew their services after months of operating without payments. Immediately after the withdrawal, services were provided by five agencies namely: Granderson, Trash Tech, Tri Star, C&S Services and Garbage Eaters.
“For the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, we were doing five groups each before pulling our services. For collection services, it’s divided into 10 groups. We were doing five and Purans were doing the other five. To assist the Council, they asked us to do two groups. We’re doing two groups and Puran is doing two also. The small contractors are doing the other groups, but this is a separate arrangement from our existing contract.”
The deadlock between the Council and contractors had many implications on the collection process within the capital city as residential and commercial areas were piled high with garbage just a few days after this decision was taken.
Additionally, communities within the outskirts of the city were neglected according to concerned citizens who had to wait almost two weeks before their bins were emptied.
Meanwhile, vendors at Bourda also complained about a slow collection process, as they are forced to wait long intervals before the garbage is removed from their surroundings.
As such, both solid waste collectors met with Communities Minister, Ronald Bulkan and officials of the M&CC, where it was promised that payment would be made and therefore, putting an end to the unending saga between collectors and the cash-strapped Council. Over the years Government have had to bail out cash strapped City Hall on several occasions.
