FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Environment Ron Pinder on Wednesday outlined plans to Sunrise Rotarians regarding the ongoing task of proper waste disposal and waste management.
At the Rotary Club of Sunrise’s weekly meeting held at the Royal Oasis Resort, Mr. Pinder highlighted three major initiatives of the Ministry of Health: The establishment of a nurses cadet corps; the formation of the blue ribbon commission on the establishment of a national health insurance scheme; and the expansion of ambulance service to community clinics.
The Special Projects Unit under the Department of Environmental Health portfolio was also discussed, with particular emphasis on its objective of assessing the problem of derelict vehicles and roadside waste.
“The problem of roadside dumping is particularly compounded and encouraged by irresponsible land owners, who do not effectively manage their properties,” Mr. Pinder said.
He outlined plans of the Environmental Health Department to conduct studies into the state of landfills in the country. According to Mr. Pinder, landfills have become outdated, and recycling has now become the order of the day.
He announced that studies would be done to assess the viability of recycling projects in the Bahamas.
Mr. Pinder conceded, however, that the removal of derelict vehicles, roadside waste, as well as combating the problem of squatting settlements remains a considerable challenge.
“This effort cannot simply be a one time deal,” he told the Journal. “This must be an ongoing effort. Roughly, it costs the government anywhere from $100 to $150 per derelict vehicle to have it collected, crushed and exported. It costs over $500 to clear an overgrown lot depending on its size. By and large the country can appreciate that this objective will be an extremely costly exercise.” Mr. Pinder noted a possible avenue through which waste removal exercises might have to be funded.
“I believe that sometime in the future, we will have to consider levying a fee with respect to bulk waste such as stoves and refrigerators. It has been mentioned that perhaps a fee be tacked on when the appliance is initially bought to cover the cost of future disposal,” he said.
He said private sector initiatives have also shown promise.
“We have several persons who are now approaching us who are very interested in recycling,” he noted to the Journal. “This would obviously help to share the load with regard to solid waste disposal. Once persons come forth with a feasible plan to recycle, it would help to preserve the life of the landfills.”
With regard to the issue of New Providence squatting settlements addressed during yesterday’s presentation, Mr. Pinder noted that many of these areas have already been targeted for removal.
“We have already begun to clear down some of the settlements,” he said. ” It is a major problem because some Bahamians believe that owning a piece of property means that they can do whatever they wish with that property, and this is not the case.”
Some 24 squatting settlements have been discovered in New Providence, some of which were found to be harbouring illegal immigrants, according to Mr. Pinder.
“Addressing this issue will involve the work of a multi-government agency task force, meeting with the police, immigration, BEC and the Water and Sewerage Corporation as well as with the Department of Environmental Health, The Ministry of Works and Social Services,” he said. “Some of the Bahamians in question in these settlements will be prosecuted, which is obviously an immigration matter.”
By Sharon Williams, The Bahama Journal
