The Ministry of Works has received the greenlight from the Cabinet to undertake a
drive to purchase a set of heavy-duty equipment as the government gets ready to
scale up the road construction and rehabilitation programme.
Making the announcement, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said the equipment
purchase will cover the range of heavy-duty equipment that the Works Ministry
needs urgently to undertake the road programme.
The move is aimed at ensuring that the Ministry of Works is fully equipped to
undertake the road programme and not to depend almost exclusively on private
heavy-duty equipment owners.
“We are buying a whole slew of equipment; everything that the Ministry of Works
wants it will be equipped with them. So, you’re going to see improvements in the
construction of community roads over time. We have made some progress with the
main roads, most have been fixed, but we know that the All Saints Road is one of
those needing repairs and this will be done shortly,” he started.
The prime minister also announced that the National Solid Waste Management
Authority will also be acquiring its own set of garbage trucks to make for a more
efficient garbage collection system in the country.
“We ordered several garbage trucks, three of which are expected to arrive in the
country within a matter of weeks and our plan is to purchase ten such garbage
trucks. This is not because we want to displace private garbage truck owners but
here you have some of these guys who are paid perhaps every other week and are
presenting bills totaling $10-$15 million dollars and are threatening to withhold
their services unless the bills are paid down. If that is the case, then Solid Waste
must acquire its own garbage trucks,” he declared.
PM Browne noted that one benefit from Solid Waste owning its own equipment
will be a more reliable garbage collection system with garbage being collected
twice weekly rather than once weekly as is the current system.
