Nassau, Bahamas - The following is a statement by the Minister of the Environment and Housing, Hon. Kenred Dorsett:
It has come to my attention that there is a story being
circulated via social media concerning the Government's fleet of garbage
trucks. The story also infers that I own
garbage trucks. Although I have
addressed this issue before in the House of Assembly and in the media. I again state emphatically for those who did
not hear or read my previous statements and for those who are only interested
in creating political mischief, that I do not own nor have I ever owned a
garbage collection truck or company.
Over the years since assuming office I have released
numerous statements through the press on the issue of garbage collection. On December 22nd, 2013 I released
a statement concerning the garbage collection schedule, in that same statement
I also listed the private companies that were contracted by the Department of
Environmental Health Services (DEHS) to collect residential waste on behalf of
the Government on a month-to-month basis.
That statement and all of my statements remain in the public domain,
accessible on my Ministry's facebook page.
One month later on January 22nd, 2014, I released another statement on the state in
which I met the publicly owned fleet of garbage trucks in 2012 and the
Government's decision to have the trucks which we met in disrepair assessed by
the diesel mechanics attached to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF). As a result of the continuous
'cannibalization” of the garbage trucks and heavy equipment by stripping them
of their working parts, the RBDF recommended the trucks be removed from the
DEHS facility to enable them to conduct a proper assessment. That was done and
the facility which currently houses the publicly owned inoperable garbage
trucks and heavy equipment is being utilised as a storage facility at no cost
to the public purse. Discussions are ongoing with respect to the future of the
inoperable trucks and their use.
The public should be aware that the management of DEHS
contend that the main issue was that the previous administration purchased the
wrong garbage trucks for the Bahamian climate and terrain. The management of
DEHS advised the former administration to purchase Mack garbage trucks. Against
that advice they purchased 16 “international” garbage trucks. All of them
encountered engine challenges and failures in a short period of time. Indeed,
when I took office, there was a grave yard of international vehicles laid up
and being cannibalized to repair the working trucks in operation. This state of
affairs is what led to the Government expanding the existing outsourcing of
residential garbage collection, started by the former administration to the
entire island of New Providence. The new programme created new entrepreneurial
opportunities for Bahamians, more jobs and it has reduced the cost to the
public purse and brought about certainty in budget calculations and estimates.
If there is a scandal, it would be to ascertain why the previous administration
purchased the wrong garbage trucks against the advice of the technical staff of
the DEHS and how those trucks ended-up in such disrepair in a short period of
time under their watch.
Based on the RBDF advice and other reports, in the interest
of the public purse the decision was also made to privatize the management of
the New Providence Landfill which has in the short time since commencement
already saved the people of the Bahamas millions of dollars, improved the
collection of tipping fees and ushered the Bahamas into a new era of
recycling.
There is no doubt that the article being circulated online
specifically social media is being done to gain political mileage for the Free
National Movement or those who seem desperate to gain the attention of the
electorate by using old and tired political tactics. However, this issue is one that has been
addressed on many occasions and I will continue to address every time an
operative of the FNM would think to destroy my good name for cheap political
points.
