And that looming garbage crisis may have more than a little to do with the problem that schools are experiencing with their garbage. As we told you last night - Waste Control has told the schools that they have to pay to have their garbage picked up - after the company did it cost free for 19 years.
The Belize District Association of Principals has rejected that proposal and has indicated it willingness to take steps to resist the measure.
Today Education Minister Patrick Faber agreed that, yes, he'll probably have ot intervene:….
Jules Vasquez
"At some point if they don't pay the garbage continues to accumulate. The ministry will have to intervene."
Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"Intervention yes and I think it's time we all sit down at the table and discuss what's the way forward. I will not be so bold to say that I know what that is this morning but the dialogue does need to happen and we need to work out something. But gain what I want to caution management is to remember as well that there is a partnership in this task to educate our children. People don't like to hear when we say that but we lean on the government sometimes for everything and if the garbage are saying somebody must pay, its seems automatic to some that it is the government that should intervene there again to take up the slack and I'm saying let's not be so quick to do that, let's sit down at the table and see if there is a way forward where other stakeholders especially the managements can take on a little bit more so that we can get what we need to get done, done."
Jules Vasquez
"How much a part of the problem in this is the City Council and how much of it is a sort of indirect retaliation towards the City Council? I know you can't know the corporate machinations of Belize Waste Control, but you know state of play with the City Council and Belize Waste Control."
Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"Yes and It is a season indeed Jules for the City Council where they are not collecting taxes, people are probably going to pay later on or at the end of the year or early January when the high season is for the tax collection for the City Council. So this is a normal period of them lagging behind in terms of their payments as far as I understand it and so it may well be that Belize Waste Control is feeling an additional pinch right now because they are not getting monies as they should from the City Council. But you are right if you are saying that they cannot be expected to squeeze the schools if somebody else is not coming up with what they are supposed to be coming up with so….. But I will have those discussions with the Waste Control people, as I have said I'll make sure to convene a discussion with all the stakeholders that are involved in this to try to find an amicable solution."
Jules Vasquez
"You have any timeline?"
Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"I am giving myself until the end of this month to try to work that out. "
And there's a major breakthrough to report on that this evening.
Around 5:00 Faber called our newsroom to say that he engaged waste control in dialogue and they agreed to continue garbage pickup at school as normal without new charges for the time being. The agreement will hold until the new financial year. Faber says he hopes he has bought time to engage the school managements to discuss the way forward and the possibility of more reasonable charges - and most importantly to see who will pay it: managements or the ministry.
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