KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has denied claims by the People’s National Party (PNP) that the authority is working with the Government to use garbage collection as a tool to influence the upcoming Local Government Election.Read: NSWMA has sole responsibility for garbage collection, PNP chides Gov’t

“This assertion is, as far as we know, both unfounded and unfortunate,” NSWMA said.  

The PNP on Saturday issued a release in which it bemoaned the issue of garbage collection, claiming that the Government is attempting to deceive Jamaicans into believing that the parish councils have been derelict in their duties as it relates to garbage collection islandwide. 

The release stated that this development has left the Opposition spokesman on Local Government Noel Arscott to conclude that “the Government is using this vexing national issue as a tool to win the Local Government Elections, to the detriment of the people of Jamaica”. 

However, NSWMA today sought to assure the public that staff members are doing their best to collect the garbage “in what has proven to be very difficult circumstances”.  

“The board of directors can categorically say that from a policy perspective, there has been no politicisation of garbage collection and if there is any evidence of this happening at an operational level, we invite anyone with such information to send it, even anonymously to the board,” the release added. 

The authority also lamented the failure to deliver 17 garbage trucks ordered in 2015 due to “bureaucratic issues”. It said the trucks are expected in 2017 and will result in a significant improvement in garbage collection.See NSWMA response in full:

The NSWMA board of directors notes article titled “NSWMA has sole responsibility for garbage collection, PNP chides Gov’t” published in the print media on Sunday, 13th November 2016.  The article suggests that the NSWMA is working with the Government to use the issue of garbage collection as a tool to influence the upcoming Local Government election. This assertion is, as far as we know, both unfounded and unfortunate.  

We assure the public that the staff of the NSWMA are doing their very best to collect the garbage in what has proven to be very difficult circumstances.  

The board of directors can categorically say that from a policy perspective, there has been no politicization of garbage collection and if there is any evidence of this happening at an operational level, we invite anyone with such information to send it, even anonymously to the board. 

The board of directors does not condone any such practice as garbage collection is a critical service offered to the public and should not be subject to any political influence. 

The NSWMA will be the first to admit that garbage collection is not where it should be and, as such, we are working assiduously to have the situation improved. In 2015, the board of directors indicated publicly that unless we receive new compactor trucks then the garbage collection process would be even more challenged and likely to deteriorate, as it is not possible to improve collection without additional trucks being in the system.        

To date, we still have not received the 17 trucks ordered in 2015, because of what we understand were ‘bureaucratic issues’, and these trucks are not expected to arrive until February 2017. Once the trucks arrive there will be significant improvement in the collections.  

The board of directors is therefore grateful for the efforts being made by the staff, given the severely restricted resources, and thanks them for their perseverance. It is important to point out that the senior management, and most of the staff have remained intact since the election and have been working around the clock to ensure garbage collection given the limited resources.  

We apologize for the ad hoc nature of collections during this difficult period until the new trucks arrive and on those occasions where garbage backlogs occur, the public is invited to contact the NSWMA’s Community Relations Department  directly at 1-888-253-2652, 448-3220 or send emails to nswma1876@gmail.com in an effort to have the particular issue resolved.  

The board of directors continues to work on initiatives aimed at substantially increasing the number of trucks in the system and navigating the various bureaucratic and other considerations that are delaying the outcome.  

We would also like to remind both the government and opposition that the challenges at the NSWMA are the result of the neglect of the authority over a period of years and spans numerous administrations. 

In fact, the Authority has pointed out that one of the challenges faced is the shortfall of funding received annually. The required budget for an adequate (twice per week) garbage collection nationally is approximately $4.5 to $5.0 billion, and the Authority’s approved budget has consistently been significantly less; the last budget approval was for $2.8 billion (a little over 50% of what is needed when the requirement was close to $5 billion). 

The NSWMA is responsible for residential garbage collection, and also to ensure that commercial operators have garbage collection contracts in place. The cleaning of gullies and drains remains the responsibility of the Municipal Corporation and City Municipality in the case of Portmore.