7 News Belize

Mayor On Managing Waste Control
posted (June 7, 2018)
One issue that is an even bigger headache for Mayor Wagner and his council is the City's contract with Belize Waste Control.

Last week, some residential garbage on the southside wasn't picked up. That's after Waste Control went on go-slow because the council owed about half a million dollars in arrears, which means the Council was about 9 weeks behind on payments.

Now, this has been a chronic problem at the Belize City Council. In fact, former Mayor Darrell Bradley and the company had many legal battles over it, going as far as to try and press in the Supreme Court for the Mayor's committal to prison.

Today, the current Mayor and Deputy Mayor discussed what happened most recently, and how they resolved it:

Oscar Arnold - Deputy Mayor, Belize City
"When I heard about it, I contacted the principals over at Waste Control, and they knew nothing of the go-slow. In fact, it was a miscommunication that happened on their part. They'll be back in country this week, and I'll be meeting with them as well. But, they had no idea that - and they did not issue any directive for that to happen because we have been enjoying a very friendly relationship with them. They've committed to work along with the City, even in the times when things slow down a little bit, because they understand the factors that are involved. So, that incident, while it was an incident that occurred, it didn't have the blessings on their part, and our Sanitation-zar, Councillor Noralez, picked up the slack, and the following morning, those residents were remedied, and the garbage was carted away."

Bernard Wagner - Mayor, Belize City
"All councils have met that issue with the Waste Control contract. We are facing some financial challenges, obviously, but we are committed to ensuring that we keep up-to-date as best as possible. We're working to ensure that we have a good relationship with the people at Waste Control. It's unfortunate that we are in this position, and it's something we inherited. We are not shying away from it. We will deal with it."

So, bottom line, the City still owes Waste Control for several weeks of work.

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