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Government to get tough on garbage collection contractors
Friday, 18 January 2008
Minister with responsibility for Local government, Robert Montague, on Friday morning pledged to stem the waste at National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).
Addressing a Rotary Club meeting, Mr. Montague said he will be taking the collection agency back to its core functions, particularly as it relates to contracts for collections.
"The National Solid Waste Management Authority in its orginal form was made up to be a monitoring and standards agency, it has morphed into a collection agency, it has become a political feeding tree, it has become all things to all men and we are in the process of reforming the National Solid Waste Management Authority and taking it back to core business," said Mr. Montague.
At present, the agency's collections contracts provide contractors with trucks, pay the drivers and the side men and also make the agency responsible for sourcing a secondary vehicle.
The contractors are not penalised for damaging vehicles.
Mr. Montague said this has resulted in almost 40 per cent of the NSWMA's fleet of supplemental vehicles being deployed to the streets each week.
However the Minister said come April, this will no longer be the case.
"Come April one because the Parish Councils are now paying for the service and they are only paying for services delivered, from April one the contractor will only be given a contract, he will be responsible for collecting garbage on his own and if the truck is down that's his responsibility; the sidemen and the drivers are his responsibility. We are just going to be paying the contractor for services rendered, if he doesn't work, he does not get paid,"
In the meantime, Mr. Montague served notice that business persons who continue to dump commercial waste on the streets will be dragged before the courts.
"There is nothing in the law that compels a commercial operator to have a contract with any garbage service provider. Come April one the laws will be amended, the enforcement officers will be out in the field and working because right now we have 32 enforcement officers in the city of Kingston, last month they issued 22 tickets,"
"So we will be moving to a system where commercial entities will have a registration badge like a sticker on your windscreen so the inspector will immediately see if you have a contract. If you don't have a contract you're going to have a little problem with the courts," he said.
Friday, 18 January 2008
Minister with responsibility for Local government, Robert Montague, on Friday morning pledged to stem the waste at National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).
Addressing a Rotary Club meeting, Mr. Montague said he will be taking the collection agency back to its core functions, particularly as it relates to contracts for collections.
"The National Solid Waste Management Authority in its orginal form was made up to be a monitoring and standards agency, it has morphed into a collection agency, it has become a political feeding tree, it has become all things to all men and we are in the process of reforming the National Solid Waste Management Authority and taking it back to core business," said Mr. Montague.
At present, the agency's collections contracts provide contractors with trucks, pay the drivers and the side men and also make the agency responsible for sourcing a secondary vehicle.
The contractors are not penalised for damaging vehicles.
Mr. Montague said this has resulted in almost 40 per cent of the NSWMA's fleet of supplemental vehicles being deployed to the streets each week.
However the Minister said come April, this will no longer be the case.
"Come April one because the Parish Councils are now paying for the service and they are only paying for services delivered, from April one the contractor will only be given a contract, he will be responsible for collecting garbage on his own and if the truck is down that's his responsibility; the sidemen and the drivers are his responsibility. We are just going to be paying the contractor for services rendered, if he doesn't work, he does not get paid,"
In the meantime, Mr. Montague served notice that business persons who continue to dump commercial waste on the streets will be dragged before the courts.
"There is nothing in the law that compels a commercial operator to have a contract with any garbage service provider. Come April one the laws will be amended, the enforcement officers will be out in the field and working because right now we have 32 enforcement officers in the city of Kingston, last month they issued 22 tickets,"
"So we will be moving to a system where commercial entities will have a registration badge like a sticker on your windscreen so the inspector will immediately see if you have a contract. If you don't have a contract you're going to have a little problem with the courts," he said.
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