The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has further hit back at councillors of the Portmore Municipal Corporation after they alleged that the entity was politicising garbage collection.
The councillors made the charge during their monthly meeting on Thursday after a presentation by Andrew Gooden, the NSWMA’s public cleansing manager for St Catherine, on improvements in the collection of garbage in the municipality and plans for the Christmas season.
The councillors claimed that persons aligned to the Jamaica Labour Party were seen on multiple occasions redirecting NSWMA trucks in Portmore.
Gooden denied knowledge of the events, claiming that the agency was not being political in carrying out its duties.
In a press release yesterday, NSWMA Executive Director Audley Gordon again rejected the assertions, challenging the councillors to provide evidence of their claims.
“The authority takes very strong objection to these utterances and urges persons to refrain from associating the NSWMA with political motives in our collection efforts, as it not only creates an incorrect view of our governance practices, but also seeks to tarnish the reputation of the hard-working team members who do the collection, the management and the board of directors,” Gordon said.
He stressed that the agency has long been under-resourced, with only 63 garbage trucks purchased in the last five years.
“Without these trucks and the support of the ageing private fleet the authority contracts, we would not be able to even collect garbage today,” Gordon said, adding that his team was still trying its best to deliver the best service possible, despite the constraints.
“We want to encourage councillors across the country to advise directly and provide the evidence, if any, [of] such partiality, as reported, and you can be assured that the NSWMA management will act swiftly to address any such act grounded in evidence,” he charged.