Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 25, 2014 News
Interim Management Committee Chairman Orrin Gordon has expressed dissatisfaction over the recent signing of a contract between Cevons Waste and the Regional Democratic Council, for solid waste disposal.
Gordon said that sometime in September 2012, there was a meeting at the Regional Democratic Council, between members of his council and those of the RDC and officials from Cevons and Concept Solutions- two waste management contractors.
He said that at the end of the day it was the general understanding that there would have been a copy of the proposals, and that there would be further discussions on the proposals before a contract was made out.
There was however no proposal(written) or contract, according to Gordon, who said that he was later called and informed that he had to attend a meeting for the signing of a contract, because the minister was in Linden.
“Well, they couldn’t take their eyes and pass me, like that, because we had asked for information, and there were a lot of things we wanted to discuss.
We asked a lot of questions on what will happen with our equipment, what will happen with the employees- as a matter of fact, that was our first concern, what would happen to the employees, what would happen to the people that pay rates and taxes and expect the municipality to collect their solid waste and what would happen to the dumpsite that was now being converted to a land fill site.”
Gordon was adamant that they were not going to pay Cevons or any other entity for disposal of garbage.”You can’t come to Linden, and tell me or tell the municipality that you have to charge. This is our municipal area, and if you’re going to come here and tell us that we got to pay you to come here and tip our garbage, something is wrong with that position or concept.
This is our council and we’re not going to pay someone else to do that.”
He added that more than that, Cevon’s went ahead and signed a contract with the region; when traditionally by law, it is the municipality that has to do that, “so how is it that you’re going to sign a contract for solid waste with the region.
So we took a back seat- we made it clear that we’re not a part of it.”
Gordon said that the municipality had signed a document to stop disposing of garbage at Dakoura in Wismar in order to protect the watershed, and had subsequently started disposing of solid waste at Kara Kara on the Mackenzie shore. The chosen site is a mined out area.
He questioned how it was then that the EPA, which was involved in the water rehabilitation project, was allowing Cevon’s to use Dakoura as a dumpsite, when the area had already been decommissioned.
Gordon said that no landfill work had been undertaken by Cevon’s, but yet they had already started dumping.
“What are we doing- how can the EPA in our discussions agree that we should move from there(Dakoura) and go somewhere else, but then subsequently agree that cevon’s could dump there; something wrong.”
Gordon also questioned the wisdom of allowing Cevon’s to charge residents $1, 600 per month for the disposal of their garbage, when the average yearly tax for a householder is about the same amount.
According to Gordon, the municipality had received several calls from residents questioning why they had to pay Cevon’s when they were already paying the council. “We of course had to tell them that we knew nothing of that, and it had nothing to do with us, and we were not getting involved.
Gordon said that whosoever wanted to pay Cevon’s for the disposal of their garbage, he had no problem with that.
He however pointed out that the municipality had a statutory responsibility to residents, to collect their garbage, and that until such time that the minister of local government should stop them from collecting people’s garbage they will continue to do so. “Because if we don’t residents can carry us to court.’
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 19, 2024
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