Cabinet lays out reasons for untimely collection of garbage, but critics say its excuses are evidence of poor planning

As residents across Antigua continue to complain that their garbage
is not collected for weeks at a time, the Executive reportedly has
discussed the issue once again.

At its Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, June 21, the operations of the
National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) and its
collection of household waste were discussed.

The Executive is admitting that the timely collection of waste is
proving to be problematic, and that part of the difficulty has been an
insufficiency of compactor trucks.

The difficulty, it says, is exacerbated by the alleged construction of
several thousand new homes and businesses in the past decade.
Critics say the Executive is vastly exaggerating the scope of new
construction; but, even so, the current situation underscores the
Ministries of Health and Public Works’ failure to plan.

Meanwhile, the Executive laid some blame on the garbage-
collectors, themselves. According to the Cabinet Notes,  “The new
drivers are also failing to enter into the communities to remove
garbage from the routes assigned.”

Once again, the Executive is pledging that all these shortcomings will
be addressed.

Earlier this week, REAL News reported that the kitchen at the Sir
Lester Bird Medical Centre has been closed for more than two weeks
on account of an infestation of rats.

Hospital staff speculated that the problem stemmed from the
infrequency of waste-collection, with the garbage skips attracting a
large number of rodents.

However, no apology or explanation has been issued to the public by
Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph, to date, observers note.