Garbage collection fee not yet decided – Town Clerk

…consultations still ongoing

Town Clerk Royston King on Monday noted that the administration of the City of Georgetown is yet to make a decision as it relates to the implementation of a garbage collection fee for residents.
King made this statement at Monday’s statutory meeting, adding that they were still in the consultation phase with at least five more public consultations expected before the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) voted on the issue.

After prematurely announcing that from February 1 the city would be collecting a $200 fee from residents for their garbage to be collected, King was instructed by Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase Green to hold at least one public consultation with residents. The first consultation, which was held on January 18, saw a mixed reaction from residents in attendance. One of the key factors highlighted was that citizens outside Georgetown would usually pay up to $400 to have their garbage collected. After those consultations are held, the proposal will then be eligible to be voted upon by the full council.
In light of this, the Mayor on Monday felt the need to emphasise that these consultations were still ongoing. “Pay or it will not be picked up. That is not the message we want to send,” she stressed.
Similarly, to that, King stated, “We have not agreed for anyone to pay for collection. We are still in the consultation phase.” He went on to note that he hopes to go into communities to hold the remaining consultations, namely – Agricola, Cummings Lodge, and South and North Ruimveldt.
Central Government allocated $200 million to the debt-ridden City Hall in its 2018 budget. In disclosing how the Council would put this money to use, King had explained to Guyana Times that almost half of this money would be spent on building the city’s garbage collection independence. It is expected that City Hall would be using the bulk of that money to procure two new garbage trucks to aid with its operations. The trucks are expected to arrive by June month-end and according to the Town Clerk, the estimated cost is $70 million, while allied equipment will be an additional $15 million.

King related that the objective was for the city to handle 60 per cent of its Solid Waste Management programme through collection in the city. He noted that this would be done incrementally and that the procurement of the trucks would be administered by the Communities Ministry.
The move to impose a garbage collection fee is to help the city to gain much-needed revenue to execute its functions. Owing to a lack of revenue and poor management of resources, Government had to grant City Hall a bailout of $475,635, 245 to settle its debt to its major garbage contractors Puran Brothers and Cevons, as well as another company after they would have pulled their services owing to non-payment.
Puran Brothers Disposal and Cevons Waste Management withdrew their services on July 30, 2017, as City Hall’s debts had risen to the multimillion-dollar range. According to the companies, the issue of non-payment has been a long-standing one, with many debts going as far back as 2015.
The two companies have since resumed collection and are expected to be paid monthly by City Hall. Central Government has since warned the administration of City Hall against requesting another bailout.
Last September, the M&CC had implemented fees for commercial waste collection. Small business operators are required to pay $5000 per month while medium businesses will contend with $8000 per month. However, large business operators across Georgetown were required to pay the most significant figure of $12,000 per month for their waste collection.
The Solid Waste Director had told the Council that while the originally approved fees for commercial garbage collection were $5000, $10,000 and $15,000 – the last two were reduced to $8000 and $12,000 after consultations.