Cost of Clean-Up will be Enormous – Bryan

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has indicated that the cost to make the island clean again, after the ravages of Hurricane Dean, would be enormous.
“I am not going to put a number out there to the public, because we are still doing the work, but it is still going to cost a considerable amount of resources to clean up across the island,” Chairman of the NSWMA, Robert Bryan, told a press conference, held at the agency’s headquarters on Half-Way-Tree Road on August 22.
“If we take into account the cost that has been associated with these clean ups [after hurricanes], and we had some experience in the recent past, it is going to be expensive,” he added.
Mr. Bryan noted that the agency was currently in discussion with the Ministry of Local Government and Environment, with portfolio responsibility for the clean-up, and from there, discussions would be held with the Ministry of Finance to report the amount of resources required.
“We are proceeding on the basis that a certain amount of resources have been indicated, so we can proceed and therefore, that is what we are doing,” he informed.
The Chairman was also adamant that the agency would adhere to government procurement guidelines when purchasing goods, works and services.
“One of my greatest concerns is to ensure that we stay within the particular guidelines. At this moment we had to evoke the emergency measures and we are following the emergency procedures that have been agreed on,” he said. “We have notified the relevant authorities of the emergency and are working with the Ministry to effect that, so I expect that we will not be breaching any guidelines,” Mr. Bryan insisted.