NSWMA Reflects On 20 Years Of Service

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has much to be proud of as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

“Through these years, we have had quite a bit of success and we cannot hide from the challenges we have. However, when we look back at a number of our successes, when the history of the NSWMA is written, I believe we will be favourably remembered for our tenure,” Executive Director Audley Gordon, said at a recent JIS Think Tank.

Hailing the leadership of the Authority through its Chairman and Board, Mr. Gordon noted that the management of the NSWMA has been turned around in recent times, so that the Authority has received corporate governance awards for the most improved public body.

The NSWMA Executive Director added that the recognition was because “for the last three years, not only do we have audited financials completed on time but also our financial standing is in good order”.

Mr. Gordon committed to having the financial audit for this year completed on time as well, maintaining the streak started a few years ago.

Mr. Gordon said the NSWMA also has a whistle-blowing policy, sexual harassment policy and the public-private partnership policy that makes the agency a standout.

The NSWMA also has in place an enterprise risk management framework, which includes a Risk Manager and Risk Management Committee and the training of the NSWMA team in risk management.

Along the same lines, the Authority secured environment permits for the operation of the country’s disposal sites and has fire management procedures in place that have increased the NSWMA’s capacity to respond to spontaneous combustion and other fires at the sites.

The Authority has also sought to improve its cadre of sanitation workers by increasing the programmes in place for them and boosting morale.

“When you look at our sidemen and sanitation workers on the roads you see them in proper uniforms and people talk about how they look. This is because of our deliberate strategy to uplift everybody who works for the Authority. We have our Back-to-Basics training where we go around the island and we meet with our sanitation workers in segments and talk to them about savings, insurance, how to start a business, hygiene and community relations,” shared Mr. Gordon.

He also stated that the training programme involves a partnership component that allows sanitation workers to pursue Caribbean Secondary Education Certificates through the HEART/NSTA Trust. It ran successfully for four consecutive years but was paused at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The NSWMA Executive Director added that the adoption of ‘ATTIRE’ (accountability, transparency, teamwork, integrity, respect and excellence) core values has resulted in staff viewing themselves as a family.

“We try to promulgate that right across the organisation. It is who we are, and a big accomplishment is the family spirit we have developed in the last 20 years – all for one and one for all,” Mr. Gordon said.

The NSWMA came into existence in 2002 with enactment of the National Solid Waste Management Act.