Mayor Hamilton Green and Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green yesterday lashed out at the City Engineers and Public Health departments, calling them incompetent.
The comments, made at a statutory meeting, were in the light of a visit around the city where a number of building codes and health violations were observed.
Chase-Green slammed sanitary officers for allowing the health violations to flourish. She referenced Delicious Chinese Restaurant, which was found to be operating without a grease trap. As a result, the grease from the restaurant obstructed the drainage system. It was also found that at some places, there were no manholes to gain access to clean the drains.
She questioned what the inspectors were really looking for and suggested that they begin to visit and offer solutions to the unsanitary conditions. She said with optimism that she hoped the problems in the public health domain would be rectified in the new week.
Stabroek News had reported that the violations occurred because the city’s human resources are limited. Debra Lewis, acting Public Relations Officer, said the city only has four environmental officers and they only visit and make checks weekly. She was quick to add that they are currently training persons with assistance from the Ministry of Public Health.
During the visit last Thursday drains in Alberttown had an obnoxious odour and didn’t seem to be flowing. Many of the city drains are clogged and the city is now moving to have the drains cleared.
Further, Chase-Green called on the city council to provide cleaning gear to workers cleaning drains and canals in the city. She lamented that in this modern time they are still finding it hard to equip workers with the essential protective gear needed for work.
Addressing the engineers’ department, Mayor Green told councillors that they can no longer continue to have an incompetent department that is failing from the top down.
Green said he is of the belief that city engineers are engaged in other works and as a result they are taken up otherwise and cannot perform their duties.
As it relates to violations, Green had said the violators would be warned in the first instance and given an opportunity to put things right. “If they can’t, we close them down. That is the procedure,” he said, while noting that they have spoken to some persons who had violations and would be writing to the others. “We are hoping that people would understand this is serious business,” he stressed.
