‘Don’t blame me for filthy city,’ Sir Molwyn tells complaining residents, ‘since I do not even live in St. John’s’
Health and Environment Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph says the
people of Antigua and Barbuda are to be blamed for the dirty
condition in which Antigua finds itself.
As residents and visitors complain about the filth around the
country – particularly the City of St. John’s, which is a hub for cruise
ships and tourists – Sir Molwyn says he is not to be blamed.
During the debate on the 2024 Appropriations Bill, the minister
asked why residents are complaining to him when he does not even
live in St. John’s – the usual reference point in conversations about
the filth.
Comparing Antigua and Barbuda to metropolitan Beijing, China, Sir
Molwyn says his recent visit there underscored the contrast
between the two countries. As he drove around, he says, he did not
see a single piece of litter anywhere in that city.
The National Solid Waste Management Authority, which falls within
Sir Molwyn’s portfolios, was given the responsibility for waste
collection after Joseph became minister in 2014. Prior to that, the
Central Board of Health executed that duty.
But, according to the environment minister, people should stop
blaming the officials and agencies for the litter and take
responsibility for it themselves; after all, he says, it is a “human
problem.”
Accordingly, he says this issue must be fixed by the individuals,
themselves, and not him.
According to Sir Molwyn, when residents see others littering, the
onus is on the people, themselves, to call out the offenders and ask
them to pick up the garbage.
That was Health and Environment Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph.
Meanwhile, critics remind Joseph that, for weeks on end, many
communities were without regular waste collection – because of his
own administration’s inability to pay the haulers.
They say that Joseph is shirking his responsibilities – not only for
improving the collection of garbage and bulk waste, but for public
education that would encourage residents to do better.
