New Year brings no assurances of owed payments – Puran

Garbage collectors deadlock
The decision of Central Government to bail out City Hall from debts owed to two main solid waste collectors in the new year remains unfulfilled and there has been no contact between the two parties on the way forward.

Speaking with Guyana Times on Wednesday, General Manager of Puran Brother’s Disposal Services, Khalesh Puran explained that no payments were made on behalf of the Government for services to resume.
“There is still no payment from them or any date that these payments will be made,” said Puran.
Without a date, collectors are questioning if they will be paid within the first week of January as was promised. Business Development Supervisor of Cevon Waste Management, Morris Archer had informed this media outlet that this was the assurance given.
At that time, high hopes were beaming as expectations suggested that they would receive owed payments.
On November 25, 2018, the collectors withdrew their services after examining the feasibility of operating without payments and being owed for over six months. Immediately after, services were provided by five agencies; namely Granderson, Trash Tech, Tri Star, C&S Services and Garbage Eaters.
By the first week in December, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan met with the collectors and officials of City Hall, where it was declared that Central Government would stand the outstanding $160 million by the ending of 2018.
“It yielded what we believe to be credible assurances that settlement of the outstanding debt will commence very shortly. Our understanding is that the first payment will be made before the end of 2018. We have, without prejudice, accepted those assurances,” the service providers jointly announced.
Meanwhile, buildups of waste across business enterprises and residential communities proved that the contractors were essential and further, that the smaller contractors were unable to service the entire city.
For this, the contractor proposed to resume operations immediately with confirmation from the M&CC. This did not materialise to which they issued another statement, affirming that services would not be provided without credible assurances.
“Timely payment under the terms of our contract with the Georgetown City Council is a fundamental issue.  We cannot, we submit, be expected to provide services without reasonable assurances of timely payment. Where there is slippage we are prepared, as we have, over time, to exercise some measure of understanding to an extent that is reasonable.”