CLEARLY exasperated with the latest garbage disposal crisis swamping City Hall, President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday signalled that the government has no alternative but to help out a “visionless City Council.” “We will have to continue to help,” he told reporters, adding that the relevant Cabinet ministers have been told to be as helpful as possible.“…but we are just tired of this sort of nitpicking and lack of focus” in City Hall, he said at a press conference at the Office of the President complex.
Garbage has been piling up in some sections of the city because contracted collection companies owed monies have stopped services.
President Jagdeo pointed out that the government has spent billions of dollars in maintaining the city -- fixing roads, cleaning parapets, paying to collect garbage, cleaning canals, putting in new drainage pumps, digging outfalls and other projects.
The city cannot be neglected, and an important section of the population lives in the capital, he stated, adding that “often what happens in the city is a reflection of what’s taking place in the country.”
Mr. Jagdeo pointed to the construction boom in the city, and said there has been an “explosion in requests for permits for new buildings.”
It is a growing city, with the private sector putting up better, nicer buildings and more modern facilities, but unfortunately, this is not matched by the vision within City Hall to meet this growth, he said.
He deplored the constant squabbling at City Hall, where he said council meetings are dominated by quarrels over matters like overseas trips and who allowed stalls to be built on roadsides. It’s never “about this new modern city that we need to all work towards,” the President charged.
He said “little things” can be done to improve the city. “If we cut the grass and remove some of the garbage, the city will look different; but a simple thing as just cutting the grass becomes a major rocket science task for the City Council,” he said.
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